Police gather Sunday afternoon after a shooting at about 9 a.m. on Knox Street in Lewiston. One person was partially covered by a sheet behind the police cruiser, middle, as onlookers watch. Another person was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with a gunshot wound and later died, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
LEWISTON — Two people died Sunday morning after being shot on Knox Street in Lewiston, according to officials.
One person died at the scene and the second died at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, according to Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Police did not say if they had a suspect or suspects in the shootings or if anyone had been arrested.
Moss said state and local police were continuing to investigate the deaths Sunday evening.
The victims were taken to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner for identification and to determine the causes of death, she said.
“The investigation has shown this to be an isolated incident,” Moss said, “and there are no known threats to the public at this time.”
Detectives and evidence response technicians from the Maine State Police major crimes unit arrived on scene shortly after Lewiston police responded at 10:18 a.m. to a 911 call about a shooting on Knox Street, according to Lewiston police Lt. Derrick St. Laurent.
Bystanders said a shooting occurred at about 9 a.m., killing one person and sending another to the hospital.
Lewiston police officers stand next to a vehicle Sunday afternoon on which several bullet holes and shattered windows are visible in front of 54 Knox St., after a shooting that reportedly occurred at about 9 a.m. A shooting victim’s body on the street was partially covered by a sheet. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
A body was covered at 12:50 p.m. on the sidewalk near 54 Knox St.
Police marked shell casings on the street and used yellow crime tape to cordon off two vehicles — a black SUV near 50 Knox St. and a blue Toyota Corolla near the intersection of Knox and Maple streets — that were reportedly involved in the incident.
By 1:30 p.m., about 100 people had gathered near the yellow tape between 50 and 54 Knox St. Several local and state police officers were processing the scene and controlling the crowd. Several small fights reportedly occurred throughout the morning. One bystander said the crowd “nearly became a riot.”
A woman who lives on Knox Street said she had heard eight gunshots, describing it as a “scary situation.”
Another resident reported hearing five shots before she emerged from her apartment to see what was happening. She said it appeared a previous incident involving a car was linked to a shooting that happened outside the 54 Knox St. apartment.
“You see this stuff on TV,” she said. “You never expect to see it in real life. It took them five hours to cover the body. I don’t know why they waited so long.”
Another woman who lives across the street from the shooting scene said she looked out the window after hearing gunshots.
“I saw someone jump in a car and leave quickly,” she said. “There was a body on the ground.”
She said she dialed 911, but that police arrived before she was off the telephone with the 911 dispatcher.
A vehicle with shattered windows is blocked off Sunday afternoon with crime scene tape. The vehicle on Knox Street in Lewiston, near the corner of Maple Street, was reportedly involved in a shooting a few hundred yards up the street, with a playground in between. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
None of the residents who spoke wanted to be named. Several other bystanders declined to comment.
Most bystanders and police were gone by 3:15 p.m., with one emergency vehicle remaining.
The Central Maine Medical Center emergency entrance was also blocked with yellow tape Sunday.
St. Laurent said he understood it was related to the shootings on Knox Street.
Staff Writer Mark LaFlamme contributed to this report.
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