Two men who died trying to stop the man responsible for the mass shooting in Lewiston in 2023 are being awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.
Jason Walker and Michael Deslauriers II of Sabattus were bowling together along with their partners at Just-In-Time Recreation when the shooter entered the bowling alley, shot an employee at the counter and started walking toward a set of crowded bowling lanes. Both men then ran at the shooter. When his gun jammed, Walker tried to kick it away. Deslauriers then rushed the assailant in an attempt to grab the gun. Both men were shot several times.
The two are credited with saving lives by giving others in the bowling alley time to flee.
Walker and Deslauriers are among 18 people from the U.S. and Canada being honored by the Carnegie Hero Commission for taking extraordinary risk to save others.
Commission spokesperson Jewels Phraner said each case is thoroughly and independently investigated. She called the actions of the two friends at the bowling alley “the personification of hope in action.”
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission describes the medal as the highest civilian honor for heroism in North America.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
