Two Years Later, Honoring the Victims and Survivors of the Lewiston Tragedy

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

On October 25, 2023, the folks at Just-in-Time Recreation and at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston were just doing what many Maine people do all the time. They were bowling with their kids. They were enjoying a cold beer and a game of cornhole after a long day at work. They were spending time with family and friends when their lives were shattered by gunfire. Eighteen people lost their lives to a senseless act of violence and many others were injured, their loved ones enduring a pain beyond comprehension.

I read a eulogy once that described grief as "the enormity of the room whose doors have now quietly shut." In the days after that Lewiston tragedy -- when the door to the future was slammed shut for 18 beloved people, our friends, neighbors, family -- our grief felt too great to bear.

Two years later, October 25 remains a difficult day for our state, as it will be for a long time to come. Sometimes loss can be a very lonely experience, especially if other people don't know what to say or what to do to help ease the heartache. But there are people who can help. The Maine Resiliency Center is available to support anyone impacted by the Lewiston tragedy. You can learn more about how to connect with staff via their website, MaineResiliencyCenter.org. If you need to talk to someone right away, you can call the Maine Crisis Line at 9-8-8. And remember, you're not alone.

As we mourn and pay tribute to those we lost two years ago, I hope all Maine people will support the victims' loved ones, and all those who were injured by showing the love that we have in our hearts for each other.

The same love for each other that Jason Walker, Michael Deslauriers, and Joe Walker demonstrated that night two years ago when they rushed the shooter in a courageous attempt to stop him and lost their lives. And when Tom Giberti instinctively ushered a group of children out the back door of the bowling alley, getting shot up himself, shot seven times in the legs while saving those young lives. And when Mike Roderick turned the lights off at Schemengees to obscure the shooter's vision.

The same love for each other that first responders exemplified when they came from far and wide to help, and which every doctor, nurse and health care worker at Central Maine Medical Center proved when they answered the call of duty and did everything they could to save lives.

The same love for each other that ASL interpreters from near and far displayed when, while reeling from the loss of four of their own, they stepped up to make sure that critical information got to those who are deaf and hard of hearing.

And it's the same love that ordinary people across the State of Maine showed all of us when they put a blue heart in their window, when they placed flowers at a memorial, when they wrote a thank you card, when they did a small act of kindness for someone who needed it most.

The enormity of our grief is surpassed only by the magnitude of our love for each other, the people of Maine. Although nothing can lessen their loss, today we grieve with the families of the victims and the survivors of the Lewiston tragedy so that no one feels alone. We open our hearts to those who were injured and to those who are still struggling with the aftermath of that night. And we offer unending gratitude to the people whose heroic actions saved lives and set us on the long and winding road to healing.

This is Governor Janet Mills. God bless you and God bless the memories of those we lost. And God bless the state of Maine. Thank you.