Gov. Janet Mills has ordered flags be lowered to half-staff to mark the second anniversary of the Lewiston mass shooting.
U.S. and state flags will be lowered from sunrise to sunset Saturday in honor of the victims and survivors of the shootings at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille on Oct. 25, 2023.
“As we mourn and pay tribute to those we lost two years ago, I hope all Maine people will support the victims’ loved ones and all those who were injured by showing the love that we have in our hearts for each other,” Mills said in a statement. “Although nothing can lessen their loss, we grieve with the families of the victims and the survivors of the Lewiston tragedy so that no one feels alone. We open our hearts to those who were injured and to those who are still struggling with the aftermath of that night. And we offer unending gratitude to the people whose heroic actions saved lives and set us on the long and winding road to healing.”
In just 15 minutes, the gunman killed 18 people and wounded 13 others at both locations before fleeing the city. That led to a sprawling manhunt involving more than 400, federal, state, county and local law enforcement. It came to an end two days later when the shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a trailer at Maine Recycling Co. in Lisbon.
