At least 20 people are feared to have been killed after a shooting in the US state of Maine, with the suspect – a firearms instructor – still at large.
Authorities in Lewiston are investigating “two active shooter events” and have warned people to stay inside, away from windows, with doors locked.
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1:02
Moments after mass shooting in Maine
Police have released images of a man with a military-style assault rifle in a bowling alley and say they are looking for “armed and dangerous” Robert Card.
The 40-year-old, with 20 years military service, worked as an army firearms instructor and recently spent time at a mental health facility after hearing voices, according to an internal police notice.
Police officers, many armed with rifles, have taken up positions across the city, and roads have been shut as the manhunt continues.
Image: Police have released images of the suspect. Pic: Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office
Image: The suspect is 40-year-old Robert Card. Pic: Lewiston Police Department
According to law enforcement sources, between 15 to 20 people are believed to have been killed.
As many as 50 people are also said to have been injured, not all of whom were shot. Some reportedly had injuries from a stampede.
Image: Pic: Lewiston Police Department
Image: Pic: Lewiston Police Department
Police say the shootings happened at about 7pm on Wednesday at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley – which are situated about four miles apart.
They also posted a photo of a white Subaru they want to find out more details about, which was later found in the nearby town of Lisbon where residents have also been told to stay at home.
Image: This photo, released by police, shows a vehicle officers are seeking information on in connection to the shooting: Pic: Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP
One witness, who identified himself only as Brandon, was at the bowling alley and described how the gunman appeared “out of nowhere” and was “15 feet behind me” when he heard “a loud pop” and the first of several gunshots.
“As soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon and he was holding a weapon, I just booked it down the lane,” he said.
“I slid basically into where the pins are and climbed up into the machine, and was on top of the machines for about 10 minutes before the cops got there.”
Image: Families have gathered in the neighbouring city of Auburn, Maine, to be reunited with their loved ones. Pic: Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP
He was among survivors who were driven to the neighbouring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.
I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he added.
Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner said the owner of the bowling alley says it was packed at the time with at least 100 people, including around 20 children.
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0:22
‘My son was at the bar and we’ve heard nothing’
Central Maine Medical Center referred to a “mass casualty, mass shooter event” but did not give numbers.
Off-duty staff, doctors and nurses have been asked to come in to work to deal with the number of casualties.
Hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles to the south, have been placed on alert to potentially receive victims.
Maine’s public health commissioner, Mike Sauschuck, confirmed multiple casualties but also said he didn’t have a precise figure.
He said “hundreds” of police are looking for “person of interest” Robert Card.
Image: Stretchers are lined up outside Central Maine Medical Center. Pic: Derek Davis/Portland Press/via AP
Kelner said information released by officials suggested the gunman was a member of the US Army Reserve suffering from mental health issues, who had threatened to carry out a shooting at a training facility in Saco, Maine, which he was assigned to.
“Questions will come down the road about just why and how he was able to maintain ownership of such a powerful weapon,” she said.
President Joe Biden has been briefed and spoke to the state’s governor to offer full federal support, the White House said.
Image: Police are searching the city of Lewiston and surrounding areas of Maine state for the gunman. Pic: AP
Governor Janet Mills echoed police instructions for residents to stay off the streets and businesses to lockdown or close until authorities give the all-clear.
Superintendent Jake Langlais said schools would be shut on Thursday, adding: “Stay close to your loved ones. Embrace them.”
Image: The shootings took place at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley – situated about four miles apart in Lewiston, Maine
The mayor of Auburn – located just across the Androscoggin River – told reporters witnesses “of all ages” including teenagers are being interviewed at an undisclosed safe location.
Jason Levesque added families gathering at a school in the city are being told whether their loved ones, who had been at the bar and bowling alley, are among the casualties.
“There’s fear, there’s panic,” he said, adding: “Something like this doesn’t just get solved overnight and nobody can expect it to. But we’ve got a really strong community. We’ve overcome a lot and we’ll overcome this.”
Who is ‘person of interest’ Robert Card?
A bulletin put out by the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a database for law enforcement officials, said 40-year-old Card is a trained firearms instructor and was believed to be in the Army Reserve.
It added that law enforcement said Card “recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, Maine”.
The bulletin said Card was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer and then released.
Sky News has not been able to independently verify the bulletin’s statements about Card’s history.
Lewiston is a city of about 35,000 people in the far northeast of the US.
Maine has one of the lowest per capita murder rates in America, with state police recording only 29 homicides in 2022.
Before Wednesday’s incident, the deadliest US mass shooting of 2023 was in Monterey Park, California, where 11 people were murdered during a Chinese New Year event.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
Tens of thousands of people have packed St Peter’s Square as the funeral of Pope Francis begins.
Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at the Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.
In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.
Around 200,000 people are attending the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square.
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His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – where the funeral service is taking place – and Rome – where Francis will be laid to rest – are under heavy security, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.
Image: The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
Image: Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
Francis’s coffin has been taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests are sitting in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
A series of readings and prayers are being read before the 50,000 faithful gathered before the basilica, and the coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense.
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2:27
Singing rings out at the Vatican
Image: Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters
It began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.
This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.
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0:52
Applause breaks out as Zelenskyy arrives
Image: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re read the homily
The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.
He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”
He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.
Image: Tens of thousands pack St Peter’s Square for the funeral. Pic: AP
Image: Clergy seated during the funeral. Pic: AP
At the end of the mass, the choir will sing in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”
After the service, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Image: Worshippers outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
He will be ushered into the basilica – dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with tradition, the Popeoutlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.