Maine shooting: Father-of-four and 14-year-old boy among victims
The 18 people who were killed in a mass shooting in the US state of Maine have been named by officials.
The suspect, Robert Card, is believed to have killed seven people at Just-In-Time Recreation, and a further eight people at Schemengees Bar and Grille.
Three more people died after being taken to local hospitals.
Among the dead are a father and son, a volunteer bowling coach and a manager at the bar, which the suspect is reported to have visited before.
The victims of the mass shooting in Maine. Pic: Department of Public Safety
All of the victims were named by public safety commissioner Mike Sauschuck during a press conference on Friday. Some had earlier been publicly identified by friends and relatives.
Joseph ‘Joey’ Walker, 57
Joseph Walker. Pic: Leroy Walker
Mr Walker was an employee at Schemengees Bar and Grille who lived in nearby Auburn, Maine.
His father, Leroy Walker, told NBC News he was a beloved husband, father and grandfather who was helping to raise two grandchildren and a stepson.
He described his son as being close to family, having lived near two of his brothers.
He regularly organised fundraisers for local causes and had been planning a cornhole tournament to help veterans when he was shot and killed.
Cornhole is a lawn game popular in North America in which players or teams take turns throwing fabric bean bags at a raised, angled board with a hole in its far end.
Although he did not personally know the suspect, Mr Walker said his son had seen Card in the bar before the shooting.
Bob and Lucille Violette, 76 and 73
Bob Violette. Pic: Facebook
As a retiree, Mr Violette volunteered as a coach of a youth bowling league team. He was with the youth league at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley when the shooting happened.
Mrs Violette, 73, was also killed.
Tricia Asselin, 53
Tricia Asselin. Pic: Alicia Lachance
The 53-year-old mother worked at the bowling alley part-time, but was there on a night out with her sister at the time of the incident.
At the time, she was trying to call 911 when the gunman shot and killed her, Ms Asselin’s brother told CNN. Her sister survived the attack.
“She wasn’t going to run,” Mr Johnson said. “She was going to try and help.”
Michael Deslauriers II and Jason Walker, both 51
(L-R) Jason Walker and Michael Deslauriers. Pic. Facebook
Writing on social media, Mr Deslauriers’s father confirmed his son and his son’s friend, Mr Walker, were shot and killed at the bowling alley.
Michael Deslauriers Sr, chairman of a local historical society, said his son and his friend died while protecting their wives and young children who were also present.
“I have the hardest news for a father to ever have to share,” he said.
“They made sure their wives and several young children were under cover then they charged the shooter.”
It is believed the two men were volunteers at the historical society.
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
Peyton Brewer-Ross. Pic: Facebook
Mr Brewer-Ross was also taking part in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar and Grille when he was killed, his brother Ralph Brewer told CNN.
His brother said he loved playing cornhole and enjoyed hanging out with friends at the venue.
“It’s just surreal and sad. Now my brother is not here anymore along with 17 other people,” he said.
“He is the nicest person you would ever meet. He never had a bad thing to say about anyone.”
He said his brother “loved being a dad more than anything else”, and recently celebrated his daughter Elle’s second birthday.
“At two years old, she isn’t going to remember any of this, but in the same breath, she isn’t going to have her dad be there the rest of her life,” he said.
He added: “We are walking around in a daze not knowing what to say, what to do, or how to act, because of a senseless shooting. “It’s so unbelievable that this can continue to happen over and over again and nothing changes.”
Bill and Aaron Young, 44 and 14
The father and son – who was aged just 14 – were killed at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, where they had been on a night out with their bowling league. This is according to Mr Young’s brother, Rob.
Before learning about their deaths, he had flown from Baltimore to Lewiston in Maine to help his sister-in-law find any information about the pair, who she had not heard from since they went to the bowling alley.
Bryan MacFarlane, 41
He was part of a group from the deaf community, taking part in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar & Grille when he was killed, his sister Keri Brooks told CNN.
He was an avid motorcyclist who loved his dog, M&M, and had recently moved back to Maine, she said.
Joshua Seal, 36
The father-of-four was confirmed dead by his wife Elizabeth Seal in a Facebook post.
She described him as the “world’s best father” and a “wonderful husband”, and also her “best friend” and “soulmate”.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you all that Joshua Seal has passed away… no, he was murdered, in the 10/25 shooting in Lewiston. It still feels surreal,” she wrote.
Referring to their children, she said Mr Seal “loved spending time with them, travelling, going for a day trip to the beach, or going camping for the weekend”.
“He loved his family and always put them first. That is what he will always be remembered for. We love and miss you so so much already,” she added.
The other victims named by officials were:
William ‘Billy’ Brackett, 48
Thomas Conrad, 34
Maxx Hathaway, 35
Keith Macneir, 64
Ronald Morin, 55
Arthur Strout, 42
Stephen Vozzella, 45
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of a coup attempt after Donald Trump approved CIA operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
Mr Trump confirmed his decision, first revealed by The New York Times, as he said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela – much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.
When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.
“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.
Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
Maduro hits back
He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro, who denies accusations from Washington that he has connections to drug trafficking and organised crime.
The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest.
“How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups?” he asked after Mr Trump’s comments on Wednesday evening, saying calls for regime change harkened back to “failed eternal wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a message to the American people, he said in English: “Not war, yes peace. The people of the US, please.”
President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
US targets ‘drug boats’
Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.
On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.
According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.
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Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.
War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.
The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.
Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.
There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
A 39-year-old man died in hospital alone, miles from his family, after being detained by US immigration officials.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, who had lived in the US since he was four, fell ill while in an immigration detention centre in California.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe was well known in the local Latino community
He complained of a fever and had a persistent cough in the weeks before he died, according to his mother Lucia.
She said he was initially treated by medical staff inside the detention centre but was returned to his cell.
He was eventually taken to hospital for a scheduled surgery to remove an abscess on his buttocks, but died before he was able to have the operation.
His family were never told he was in hospital, learning of his death via a knock on the door from police.
“They’re the ones that notified us that he had passed,” his brother, Jose Ayala, told Sky News.
“We were not even aware that he was in the hospital or even had a scheduled surgery. Then we got a knock on our door a little after 5.30 one morning.
“I believe he would still be alive today if he was never detained. He got sick while in detention, and they did not seem to take care of him.”
Ismael’s brother Jose speaks to Sky News
Why was he detained?
Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death raises questions about the conditions inside the centre he was held in, and if a sudden surge of immigrants being detained by this administration has left the system stretched beyond breaking point.
He had moved to the US from Mexico with his family as a child.
He did have DACA – deferred action for childhood arrivals – status, granted to those who have arrived while under the age of 18. But this was removed in 2016, after he was convicted of drink-driving.
In August, he was arrested by immigration agents at a car wash in California where he had worked for 15 years.
He was held for five weeks at Adelanto, a privately owned, run-for-profit, immigrant detention centre. A lawyer for his family said he was, as far as they are aware, a healthy man before he was detained and had no medical need.
But Mr Ayala-Uribe’s mother, who was visiting him every eight days and speaking to him on the phone a couple of times a day, said she noticed him getting progressively unwell.
Ismael’s brother and mother, Lucia
“He started with lots of fever,” Ms Ayala said. “He said they weren’t listening to him. The last time I saw him his face was drained, he told me he was not OK, he told me he couldn’t take it any more.”
Beginning to cry, wiping away tears, she added: “I feel powerless that I couldn’t do anything to help my son.
“I never imagined I was going to bury one of my sons. It feels terrible, they took a piece of my heart away.
“I would like something to change. If we cannot save him, at least we can save others that are still inside.”
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Inside Trump’s immigration raids
ICE defends detention treatment
The cause of Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death is still under investigation.
Sky News requested comment from the company which owns the detention centre where he was held, and they deferred to ICE, the US immigration and customs enforcement agency.
In a statement, ICE said: “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.
“At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergency care.”
The Trump administration says it’s targeting criminals and people in the US illegally. But campaigners say Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death should not be viewed in isolation.
Images from Ismael’s funeral service
Since Donald Trump took office, at least 15 people have died in immigration detention.
Democrat senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock wrote a letter to the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, asking for more information about these deaths.
The senators claimed 10 people had died between January and June, and that it was the highest rate in the first six months of any year publicly available.
Sarah Houston, a lawyer for the Immigrant Defenders Law Centre, claims immigrants are being mistreated in custody.
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The people fighting back against ICE raids
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ICE raids: ‘This is like Vietnam’
“This administration’s main goal is to harm, to torture individuals and to try to force them out,” she said.
“The great increase we see in human rights abuses, in deaths, is a direct result of the administration’s decision to pack these detention centres as much as they can.”
Mr Ayala-Uribe’s funeral was held this week. Dozens of extended family and friends wore t-shirts bearing his face. A mariachi band played as his casket was lowered into the ground and his mother heaved with sobs.
As they absorb their loss, the effort to carry out the biggest mass deportation operation in US history continues.
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