‘It doesn’t have to be this way’: US looks to Australia after shooting
US Vice President Kamala Harris has pointed to Australia as the gold standard in gun control after another mass shooting tragedy in the US left 18 people dead. Warning: Graphic
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US Vice President Kamala Harris seized on Australia’s successful firearms crackdown to renew the Biden administration’s push to ban assault weapons in the wake of another mass shooting.
Speaking at a State Department lunch in honour of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, she said the shooting in the Maine town of Lewiston was “yet another community torn apart by senseless gun violence”.
Maine governor Janet Mills confirmed that 18 people were killed and 13 injured in the Wednesday night when Robert Card went on a shooting rampage.
The incident happened at a bowling alley hosting a youth bowling league competition and nearby bar in Lewiston, Maine’s second biggest city.
“Once again, routine gatherings – this time at a bowling alley and a restaurant – have been turned into scenes of horrific carnage,” she said.
“In our country today, the leading cause of death of American children is gun violence. Gun violence has terrorised and traumatised so many of our communities in this country.”
“Let us be clear: It does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.”
Mr Albanese shared his condolences with victims of the mass shooting.
“It is the case that we look every time there is one of these events, and are grateful that Australia did act in a bipartisan way after the Port Arthur massacre,” the Prime Minister said.
SHOOTER CHARGED, REMAINS ON THE RUN
A “highly-skilled” gunman responsible for the shooting has been charged with eight counts of murder.
Maine Police Colonel William Ross said only eight of the 18 victims have been identified as of Thursday morning local time, which is why at-large shooter Card was so far only charged with eight deaths.
Colonel Ross told media that seven of the gunshot victims were found at the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley: one female and six males. Another eight victims were found at Schemengees Bar and Grille: seven males inside and one outside.
US President Joe Biden mourned the victims of the “senseless and tragic” shooting, calling for greater protections to prevent gun violence.
“Once again, our nation is in mourning after yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“For countless Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatised by it, a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds. Far too many Americans have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence. That is not normal, and we cannot accept it,” he continued.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for Card, a previously sectioned Army reserve firearms instructor and petroleum supply specialist with no military deployments.
Card had been taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically in mid-July, a US official told media.
Card, described as “armed and dangerous” and “highly-skilled”, has ties to Massachusetts, and police are stationed at the border between the two states. Police said he should not be approached in any circumstances.
‘NIGHTMARE’
Survivors have described how they escaped by running down bowling lanes and hiding behind pins as the gunman opened fire while children were playing - with teenagers among the injured.
Meghan Hutchinson described the horror when her daughter was grazed by a bullet in the bowling alley as they were running away from the gunman.
“We were in the back room. Another child came in whose arm had a massive ... was bleeding profusely. So we barricaded in there and another parent was in the room with me. She had a phone and she called 911,” she told local news station WMTW.
“I still feel like this whole thing is a nightmare,” Kathy Lebel, the co-owner of Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant, where at least 14 people were shot, told the Sun Journal.
Lebel said she wasn’t working at the time but was told a gunman walked into the bar and just “started shooting”.
“It was just a fun night playing cornhole … it’s the last thing you’re expecting, right?” she told the outlet.
Dozens of people searching for missing loved ones tried to get answers outside the Central Maine Medical Centre, the closest hospital to the shooting scenes, where staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event,” according to the centre’s website.
Armed security guards stood at the hospital’s main entrance for hours to ensure the safety of visitors and patients, News Centre Maine reported.
A woman told the station that she hasn’t been able to reach her adult son, who was reportedly shot while playing pool at Schemengees Bar with her ex-husband. She doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead.
“My ex-husband and my son were playing pool. And next thing I know, I saw on Facebook that there was a shooting at Schemengees, where they were playing,” the woman named Julie told the station outside Central Maine Hospital, where she and his wife and son gathered to wait for answers.
“We’re all waiting and we’ve learned nothing,” she said. “They won’t tell us if he’s alive, if he’s in critical condition, if he’s passed — they won’t tell us anything.”
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