Pittsburgh native in Maine for work traveled to Lewiston as mass shooting began

LEWISTON, Maine — A Pittsburgh native was in Maine for work Wednesday night. When he was making his way to Lewiston, he realized something wasn’t right.

>> Lewiston shootings: At least 18 killed, 13 injured, Maine governor says

“I’ve never seen a police presence like that,” Sam Armfield told Channel 11. “I saw at least another 50-60 state and local police cars, and SWAT vehicles coming as far south as Portland.”

Law enforcement was responding to active shooter reports after a gunman started firing in a bowling alley and a restaurant, killing 18 people and hurting over a dozen more.

“I was stunned when I got home to hear how extensive it was. The amount of people injured and killed, my heart and feelings goes out to them. It’s so sad and so tragic,” he said.

Armfield works in the medical field and knew of friends preparing their hospitals for patients.

“I’ve had friends who work at Maine Med in Portland and they were prepping to receive people at the hospital, from the shooting. They had 10 ORs prepped, and three people were in transport, but none of them made it,” he added.

Today, the small community is still stunned.

“At the clinic I work at, we had quite a few cancellations. Probably 20-30% of the people didn’t show up because people are staying in place and in lockdown.”

And as tomorrow marks five years since the Tree of Life mass shooting, the most recent senseless violence in Maine is a stark reminder that these shootings are still all too common.

“It doesn’t matter where you are. You could be at a daycare,a bar, at work… and we have these incidents, and they continue to happen.”

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