Eighteen people killed and 13 injured in attack in Lewiston on Wednesday, as investigators search for precise motive for shooting
Residents of Lewiston return to work on Monday, the morning after coming together to mourn those lost in Maine’s worst mass shooting.
They gathered on Sunday evening, hugging one another, singing a rousing rendition of Amazing Grace, and seeking guidance out of these dark days from leaders who talked of hope, healing and the power of prayer.
More than 1,000 people attended Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for a vigil in Lewiston, where days earlier a gunman fatally shot 18 people. Some put their heads in their hands as the names of the people who died in Wednesday’s shooting were read. Others quietly wept.
Hundreds more watched a live stream of the vigil shown on a huge screen in front of the church. Some held American flags and others had lit candles in cups marked with the names of the dead and injured.
“Remember to seek healing over relief. Relief is temporary. Healing is permanent. Pain is temporary,” the Rev Gary Bragg of the Southern Baptist church in Lewiston said. As he spoke, he asked the crowd to welcome their neighbor to the service with the words “I am so glad you are here” and then to ask how they might help them.
The vigil came two days after the suspected gunman, Robert Card, was found dead on Friday evening, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Christian leaders along with a rabbi and an imam spoke at Sunday’s event of the pain from the shooting but also the healing process and the resilience of the community of 40,000. There was also a speaker from Lewiston’s deaf and hard of hearing community, as four of its members were killed in the shooting while they were at a games night.
