“It’s going to be a game of unity.”
The city of Lewiston takes another tentative step in its recovery from Maine’s worst mass shooting as high school football returns Wednesday.
Known as the Battle of the Bridge, the game features cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School in Auburn. Last Friday’s game between the Blue Devils and the Red Eddies was postponed after the communities were locked down while police searched for 40-year-old Robert Card.
He was found dead Friday, days after shooting and killing 18 people and injuring 13 others at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston. Residents in both Lewiston and Auburn lost family and friends in the Oct. 25 shooting.
Singer James Taylor performed an acoustic version of the national anthem ahead of kickoff. There was a moment of silence.
“Words cannot express the tremendous grief our communities are experiencing over the tragedy of this past week,” a speaker said over the public address system. “As a community we are stunned. We mourn the tragic loss of life, lives and injuries, and our deepest sympathies go out to the victims, their families and friends.”
Then the person read out the names of the 18 who were killed, saying, “Let us not forget these names.”
Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais also spoke to the crowd, saying, “We started this week trying to do the best we could. We had an objective to care for those who cared for us, and tonight we’re doing that.”
“We’re looking to pace our return to the new normal, whatever that is, in what was a command center one week ago,” he said, referring to how the Lewiston campus was used by law enforcement during the massive search. “Today that place is a place of community. … We gather to say thank you, to recognize the strength of the history that is family between Lewiston and Auburn.
