America the violent thrust Lewiston, Maine, into the national crime floodlights last week.
Eighteen people randomly shot to death by a gunman with a high-powered rifle and a large-capacity bullet clip added the gritty former mill town to the shocking toll of mass murder locations across the country.
Victims, including many also injured, are the latest felled by killer bullets while going about their normal lives, in this case, enjoying a midweek night out at a bowling alley and a restaurant.
• Six males and one female died at the bowling alley, hosting a children’s league competition when the first shooting occurred around 7 p.m.
• Eight other males died at the restaurant, hosting a weekly cornhole tournament four miles from the bowling alley.
• Three died at the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where the injured were transported. Three others in critical condition clung to life.
“Why do people do this?” asked a 10-year-old girl who said a bullet grazed her leg at the bowling alley.
It is the question talked about every time mass shootings occur. The answer is also the subject of perpetual conflict between gun control advocates and Second Amendment supporters.
The impasse over reasonable compromise seems impossible no matter how horrific the deadly results of more guns in the hands of civilians than the 330 million people in the U.S.
The sole suspect in the mass shooting has been identified as Robert R. Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine. Army officials said he held the rank of sergeant first class in the Army Reserve. Officials said he had a history of mental issues, spending two weeks in a mental health facility this summer after talking about hearing voices and shooting up a military base.
Card was later found, dead, apparently at his own hand.
Four years ago Maine enacted a so-called yellow flag law that enables police and the courts to confiscate guns from owners who are a public safety danger. But it is far more optional than the stronger red flag laws in some other states that require the taking of guns, especially in mental health cases.
Broadly, Maine’s gun laws are limp. Hunting and sport shooting are in the state’s DNA. Many residents own multiple guns. Efforts to restrict who can or cannot possess them meet with robust resistance.
Carrying open or concealed guns require no permits. Allowed are military-style rifles and large capacity bullet clips (magazines). Background checks for private gun sales go nowhere.
There’s little chance the Lewiston massacre will result in stricter gun laws. The only certainty is the town is now back in the national discussion for the first time in nearly six decades.
The last time: May 15,1965 when Muhammad Ali KO’d Sonny Liston 1 minute, 44 seconds into the first round of the heavyweight title fight in a makeshift Lewiston arena.
Often called the phantom punch fight, it had the town aglow with the attention. That’s not the case this time.
“This is a dark day for Maine,” said Gov. Janet Mills.