At least 18 people were killed the evening of October 25th, 2023 and 13 injured in Lewiston, Maine. The shooting unfolded in a bowling alley where a children's league was taking place and a local bar.
The shooter, whose name I'll leave out, is a reservist to the 3rd. Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in Saco, Maine. After the shooting incident concluded, the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle, and after an extensive search by law enforcement, his car was recovered. The suspect continues to remain at large, and the search is ongoing.
Following the tragic event, U. S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced he was changing his policy against an assault rifle ban during a news conference. Golden was one of five Democratic House members who voted against a ban in 2022.
My question is, "Why does it take 18 people dying to finally wake politicians to ban all assault rifles and high-volume magazines?
Although Maine had "Yellow Flag" laws at the time of this shooting, the suspect suffered a history of mental illness and met the elements for allowing law enforcement to remove his firearms; he fell between the cracks, and no action was taken.
This country can never expect these tragic events to stop unless we make significant changes in gun laws and support more funding for mental health facilities. Prohibition of assault weapons can prevent mass shooting fatalities and active shooter events. Researchers estimate the federal law prohibiting assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect from 2005 through 2019; it would have prevented 30 mass shootings that resulted in 1,478 people shot and killed or wounded.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Active Shooters, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@lockdowninternational.com
Author Bob Cooke
Proactive Solutions for Unexpected Situations
And the recent documentary on the body-camera footage from the Uvalde school shooting showed the horrific adverse impacts on the law-enforcement response, from high-caliber weapons. https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-uvalde-response-documentary-investigation
In my opinion and from an overall emergency management perspective, national law enforcement leadership organizations need to develop new universal training, which meets or exceeds community expectations of officer conduct, during active assailant attacks, especially at schools. There are high levels of misconceptions in the public that even when 'out-gunned' by bad actors, that the police will be able to stabilize the incident quickly - and at their own risk of life safety - to stop the threat. History has taught us that the response model has to be agile: to change and adapt,…