Mourners gather to commemorate one year after Maine’s deadliest mass shooting

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Elizabeth Seal, whose husband Joshua was killed in the deadliest shooting in Maine history, told a crowd of mourners Friday that the tragedy that rocked their town a year ago also created a community that in has only become stronger over time.

“These connections, like a spider web, are beautiful. I wish it didn’t take a tragedy to discover these connections,” Seal said through an American Sign Language interpreter, adding that the community would “forever be Lewiston strong.”

Seal made the comments during a memorial service that drew more than 1,000 people to the city’s hockey arena, The Colisée, where Maine residents whose sense of security was shattered last year by the mass shooting marked the anniversary.

The murder of 18 people by an army reservist in Lewiston, the stark reality made clear that no corner of the country is safe from gun violence, including a state where people often brag about its low crime rate.

Mourners held two moments of silence during the ceremony Friday evening, right at the time the shooting occurred at two separate locations.

During the event, some people held teddy bears distributed by the American Red Cross. At the front of the stage were 18 chairs, each with a blue heart with the victim’s name, along with a candle and white flowers. The names of each victim were read aloud while an image was projected onto video screens.

A local museum collected souvenirs and other items related to the tragedy. Among the items left behind was a single shoe belonging to a survivor who lost the shoe’s partner the night of the shooting. Other items included a pair of bowling shoes.

Earlier Friday, Arthur Barnard, the father of shooting victim Artie Strout, said it was a day of mourning for his family and others, but also a day of action in the campaign for stricter hazard protection orders in the state.

“Nothing can bring Artie back. But we can try to ensure that no other family has to go through what mine did,” Barnard said in a statement.

The Oct. 25, 2023, shootings occurred at a bowling alley and a cornhole tournament hosted by a bar and grill. The shooter died by suicide, and his body was found two days later.

At the high school, which became a command post with helicopters using sports fields and hundreds of police vehicles in the parking lot, students marked the anniversary with a moment of silence.

“We will never forget the unimaginable pain and loss that resulted from that terrible day,” Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a statement. But, he added, “much good has happened since that terrible day.”

Justin Juray, owner of the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley where the shooting began, said the location was closed Friday to allow staff to be with their families.

“We don’t need work to add to their stress,” he said. Juray and his wife Samantha, the bowling alley reopened in Maysix months after the shooting. Two staff members were among the eight people who died there.