Watch now: ‘Breakdown in Maine’ a FRONTLINE documentary
In October 2023, a local Army Reservist opened fire inside two family businesses in Lewiston, a small city north of Portland. Within minutes, 18 were killed and 13 wounded – and the largely pro-gun state was left reeling. The Portland Press Herald and Maine Public examine the failures and aftermath in collaboration with a FRONTLINE documentary.
The film has been nominated for a George Foster Peabody Award for public service and two news and documentary Emmy awards.
The other Cards: the guilt and grief of loving a mass shooter
Members of the Bowdoin family are among the few relatives of a mass shooter to ever talk openly about their experience.
What the Lewiston shooter’s brain injury can tell us about blast exposure in the military
Experts say the gunman’s brain tissue points to traumatic injury ‘likely’ caused by blasts in the line of duty; the Army disagrees but is taking steps to limit exposure.
How Maine’s novel ‘yellow flag’ law endured after the Lewiston mass shooting
Maine’s law is a compromise rooted in a tradition of gun rights that crosses the political aisle.
A Maine law could have forced the Lewiston mass shooter into psychiatric treatment. Why wasn’t it used?
Like nearly every other state, Maine can compel those with serious mental illnesses to comply with outpatient treatment. But the law is rarely used. Some fear it threatens to return America to a dark era of institutionalization.
4 key findings about Maine’s law to compel mental health treatment
We spent months talking to experts in mental health care about what happened in Lewiston and how to treat people who cannot or do not accept their mental illnesses.
Lewiston counseling center helps community navigate grief from mass shooting
The Maine Resiliency Center opened just 19 days after the mass shooting and has become a critical resource for more than 400 people. Some are trying to keep it open permanently.