2023-10-27 14:00:00
(CNN) — At least 18 people died in the shootings this Wednesday in Lewiston, Maine, reported the state’s governor, Janet Mills. Another 13 people were injured, she added.
Authorities are working to identify the victims. Here, what we know regarding them so far.
Tricia Asselin
Tricia Asselin. (Image provided to CNN)
Tricia Asselin, 53, worked part-time at Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston, but she was bowling Wednesday night when a gunman walked in and opened fire, her brother told CNN Thursday. .
“What they told me is that when it all started, she ran up to the counter and started calling 911, and that’s when they shot her,” DJ Johnson told CNN. “That was her. She wasn’t going to run away. She was going to try to help.”
His other sister was also at the bowling alley but managed to escape, he said.
Johnson spoke to CNN while traveling to Maine to identify his sister and be with the rest of his family. He defined Asselin as his “little sister” and said they were very close. He said her oldest son is devastated by the loss.
“She and I talked probably three or four times a week and texted every day,” he said. “Her son was her whole life. From the day she was born until yesterday. She did everything for him…he was her world,” Johnson said.
Asselin “was the rock of the family” and “kept everyone on an even keel,” Johnson said.
“If there was an argument, she was the one who would calm everyone down. If someone was having a bad day, she would be right on the phone to talk regarding it,” he said.
Joseph Walker
Joseph Walker. (Credit: CNN)
Auburn, Maine, city councilman Leroy Walker told CNN affiliate WGME that his son, Joseph Walker, was killed in the shooting at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston.
Walker said he received a call Wednesday night from his youngest son, who told him there was a shooting inside Schemengees and that he was worried regarding Joseph.
Walker said they tried to get answers from the hospital regarding their son’s whereregardings. After 14 hours of waiting, he said he and his family were notified of Joseph’s death.
State police told her son’s wife that Joseph, the bar manager, grabbed a knife and went following the attacker to try to stop him from killing other people, and that’s when he was shot to death.
“My son was loved by thousands of people,” Walker said. He also told WGME that he lost a daughter 25 years ago in a car accident.
Bryan MacFarlane
Bryan MacFarlane, left, and his sister Keri Brooks. (Courtesy of Keri Broks)
Bryan MacFarlane, 40, was participating in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar and Grille restaurant when he was killed, his sister Keri Brooks told CNN.
MacFarlane, who is part of the local deaf community, often goes to Schemengees on Wednesdays, where people from the deaf community gather to play cornhole, Brooks said.
Brooks learned of MacFarlane’s death Thursday morning following police showed up at his mother’s door to notify the family.
“I grew up in Maine and the deaf community is a very close-knit community,” Brooks said. “Not only did they kill my brother, but they killed my friends,” Brooks said, speaking of the other victims he was aware of.
MacFarlane grew up in the Portland metropolitan area, but had recently moved to Maine, Brooks told CNN.
According to Brooks, his brother was one of the first deaf people in the state of Vermont to obtain his CDL (commercial driver’s license) trucking license. “Many states don’t allow deaf people to drive trucks, so I’m very proud of him for doing it. He worked as a truck driver for several years,” Brook said.
MacFarlane also loved riding his motorcycle and hanging out with his dog named M&M, Brooks added.
Peyton Brewer-Ross
Peyton Brewer-Ross was playing in a cornhole tournament in Schemengees when the gunman opened fire and was killed, his brother Ralph Brewer told CNN.
Brewer-Ross, 39, loved playing cornhole and spending time with his friends at the bar; He also liked comics and games.
He had a two-year-old daughter, Elle.
“It’s surreal and sad. Now my brother is no longer here along with 17 other people,” Brewer told CNN in a phone interview Thursday. “He went to play cornhole. He’s the nicest person you’ll ever meet. He never had anything bad to say regarding anyone.”
Brewer-Ross “loved being a father more than anything else,” his brother added. Two weeks ago, Brewer-Ross celebrated his daughter Elle’s second birthday.
“He woke up telling his mother, Rachel [Sloat]’Where’s dad, where’s dad,'” Brewer said. “He’s not going to remember any of this, but at the same time he’s not going to have his dad there for the rest of his life.”
“We walk around stunned not knowing what to say, what to do or how to act because of a senseless shooting,” Brewer said. “It’s so incredible that this can keep happening over and over once more and nothing changes.”
Arthur Strout
“Artie” Strout was at the Schemengees Bar and Grille restaurant when the gunman opened fire, his father, Arthur Bernard, told CNN affiliate WBZ.
Bernard said he had just left Schemengees when he received the heartbreaking call informing him there was an active attacker.
“The craziest thing is I was right next to him before it happened, minutes, I mean 10 minutes before it happened,” Bernard told WBZ. “I hadn’t gotten too far in the car when I got a phone call saying there was a shooting there and I knew where he was at the scene.”
Strout’s family thought he was in the hospital, but learned the news of his death Thursday.
Joseph “Joey” Walker
Leroy Walker, a city councilman in Auburn, Maine, told CNN affiliate WGME that his son, Joseph Walker, was one of the Schemengees’ victims. Walker said state police told his son’s wife that Joseph, the bar manager, grabbed a knife and went following the gunman to try to stop him from killing other people and that’s when Joseph was shot to death. .
After 14 hours of waiting, Walker said he and his family were notified of Joseph’s death.
“I’m very proud of my son,” Leroy Walker said on CNN Friday morning, adding that his son was a loving person who will be missed by thousands of people. “I know I would definitely do this once more.
Joseph Walker
(CNN)
“For someone to do this to so many families, besides mine, is crazy. It just leaves a void that I don’t know how it will be filled.”
He said he doesn’t hate the killer.
“You have to forget regarding that,” he said. “You have to let the Lord do what is necessary. If you hate and hate drives you crazy, you’re going to hurt people. “Hate will never bring my son back.”
Bill and Aaron
Bill Young and his 14-year-old son, Aaron, were also among those killed, according to Archyde.com.
CNN’s Natalie Barr and Caroll Alvarado contributed reporting to this publication.
1698416499
#victims #Lewiston #Maine #shootings
