Burlington, Vt. -- This morning, tragic events continue to unfold in small communities across Maine following a mass shooting event last night in Lewiston. Early reports describe a scene of ongoing mayhem with at least sixteen people dead, more than fifty injured, and the shooter still at large. This is one of 565 mass shootings in America this year. Mayor Weinberger made the following statement:
“Even amidst a climate in which American mass shootings have become routine, the events unfolding in Maine are shocking. This time, the tragedy is taking place in a New England college city much like Burlington. The community life of Lewiston, Maine is one that we know and understand. As a city of neighbors, we know what it is like to walk into any bar, restaurant, or bowling alley and see friends, schoolmates, coworkers, and family. Yet, the devastation and terror that Lewiston and surrounding communities are faced with this morning is unimaginable and horrifying.
As in so many past tragedies in the twelve years since Newtown, early reports say this lone shooter used a military-style semi-automatic weapon to commit these murders. As long as we allow these weapons to circulate in mass numbers with virtually no regulation, these catastrophes will continue. We can, and must, pass common-sense gun laws to end this scourge of violence. No other nation lives this way, and neither should we.”
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