Lewiston and all of Maine share our emotions of grief and sorrow

 Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH

The View from Maine

October 27, 2023

Lewiston, Maine

So many friends from around the country and world have kindly reached out that I thought I would share a bit what things are like in Maine, from my personal perspective.

We find ourselves in such an unimaginable situation that many of us are struggling to figure out what to write, what to say, and what to do. The mixture of conflicting feelings - from shock, anger, numbness, to grief - complicates the situation.

Unlike most states, Maine is one big small town. With only just over one million people in the entire state, we’re a close-knit community. We’re the most rural state in the nation, with about 61% of our population living in rural communities, versus 19% nationally. Our largest city, Portland, only has 68,000, which would be considered a town in many other places. We often say that the “six degrees of separation” is about a half degree in Maine. We still only have one area code, 207, which is a part of our identity, along with lobsters, lighthouses, and pine trees.

Maine is a lot like Cheers, a place where everybody knows your name, where they’re always glad you came. And like Cheers, Maine communities have many gathering spots, like bowling alleys with leagues, and bars with corn hole, pool, and dart tournaments.

Indeed, on Wednesday evening (October 25), a Lewiston bowling alley was hosting its weekly youth night with a number of older mentors sharing their love for the game. And a bar and grill a few miles away was holding its regular corn hole tournament, including one with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.

Then, that life and those lives were shattered.

As the names of the victims emerge, there are many of us and/or our family members, coworkers, and friends who know them or know their loved ones. Maine communities are like a tightly-woven blanket, with threads that are inextricably linked. Below is a site with brief biographies on the victims the Portland Press Herald is posting, updating, and making freely available. Even in these brief summaries, one can sense the various ways in which these community members’ lives were threaded across the community of Maine. And how as these 18 threads become unraveled, our blanket is left with gaping and bloodstained holes.

Compounding the situation is that as I write this, the alleged shooter/mass murderer was not yet found. Tens of thousands live in areas that were in lockdown, which covers a two-county area about three-quarters the size of Rhode Island. Even in areas a couple of hours from Lewiston, schools, daycares, and many businesses are closed. Grocery stores are closed in the lockdown and adjacent communities. LL Bean, which is famous for being open 24x7 every day of the year, is closed for the second day in a row. Some aspects of life are eerily quiet. And in that quiet, there is tension, since life the way we have known has been shattered.

Many felt Maine was immune from much of the gun violence seen in other states. After all, Maine has been being ranked by the FBI as the safest state in the nation. On average, Maine sees about 20 homicides per year, representing some of the lowest rates in the country. This is despite Maine having high gun ownership rates, with an estimated 45% of households with guns (2016 data). But after Wednesday evening’s horrific rampage, it is clearer to everyone that we are not immune.

Indeed, if mass murder gun violence can happen in Maine, it can happen anywhere in the United States.

Friday Night Addendum: We are relieved to know that the killer's body was found this evening. We can move around freely again, knowing he is no longer a threat. But the shock of losing so many wonderful people is just sinking In.

Resources:

States rurality:

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/.../pct_rural/ME

Portland Press Herald Lewiston victims' biographies:

https://www.pressherald.com/.../lives-lost-in-lewiston.../.

US News state rankings on crime:

https://www.usnews.com/.../10-safest-states-in-america

US CDC state homicide data:

https://www.cdc.gov/.../homicide_mortality/homicide.htm

Gun ownership estimates by states 1980-2016:

https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL354.htmlhe

Maine Gun Safety Coalition: https://www.mainegunsafety.org/

The Maine Gun Safety Coalition grieves with the families and friends who lost loved ones in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. We watched in horror as the tragedy in Lewiston happened before our eyes – the result of our state's weak gun laws. We call on our elected officials tonight to stop bowing to the gun lobby and look squarely at the face of what has happened in Maine’s second largest city. At a minimum, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition believes an assault weapons ban is necessary to try to prevent more such tragedies in our state.  From Camilla Shannon, Board Chair.