Wednesday’s shooting rampage took place in Lewiston, Maine, a sprawling residential and industrial area just off the Maine Turnpike.
The city has just 38,493 residents as of last year, according to the US Census. It’s home to Bates College, a private liberal arts school, and is regularly ranked as one of America’s safest cities.
Lewiston is a largely working-class community, with a median household income of about $48,000 and in which about 16% of the population lives in poverty, according to the US Census.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who met her husband in Lewiston, described it as a “special place.”
“It’s a close-knit community with a long history of hard work, of persistence, of faith, of opening its big heart to people everywhere,” Mills said. “This city did not deserve this terrible assault on its citizens, on its peace of mind, on its sense of security. No city does, no state, no people.”
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said he was “heartbroken for our city and our people.”
“Lewiston is known for our strength and grit and we will need both in the days to come,” he said.
Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce President Shanna Cox on Thursday called the scene of both attacks “family locations,” adding: The likeliness of this having direct impact for so many here is so real.”
The shootings took place in a bowling alley and a restaurant, leaving at least 18 dead and 13 injured.
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