Authorities in north-eastern states close to Maine are on alert as the hunt for the gunman continues.

New Hampshire's homeland security agency says it is monitoring the situation and has asked people in the state to be vigilant. The New Hampshire-Maine state border is around 50 miles (80.4km) from Lewiston.

A statement also said the agency has contacted "our counterparts in Maine to offer and provide any medical and safety resources needed as they manage this horrific situation".

Further afield, Colonel Stavros Mellekas, deputy commissioner of Connecticut's State Police, called the incident "deeply disturbing and heart-breaking".

A statement said that, despite "no specific threats", the situation is being monitored, adding: "At this time, our focus will be on protecting communities within our state."

As the manhunt continues in Maine for a gunman who is believed to have killed 16 people and injured many more, here's a look at how events unfolded:

• The shootings began shortly before 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT) according to Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck
• Shortly after 20:00, Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office published photos of the suspected gunman and asked businesses to lock down
• At 20:09, Maine State Police said there was an active shooter in Lewiston and that they were investigating multiple locations. It also asked people to shelter in place
• Around 20:30, the city of Auburn told its residents to shelter in place and lock their doors.
• Around 23:00, the Lewiston Police Department posted another picture of Card on social media, naming him as a “person of interest”
• Half an hour later, state police said a “vehicle of interest” was found in Lisbon, about seven miles from Lewiston, and asked people to shelter in place there as well
• At around 04:30 local time, Maine State Police said on X that the shelter-in-place order had been expanded to the town of Bowdoin, which is where the suspected shooter is from

It's approaching 09:00 in Lewiston, where 38,000 residents woke up this morning to a "shelter" order advising them to stay indoors.

Here's the scene in the Maine town this morning:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The deadliest US shooting this yearpublished at 13:34 British Summer Time 26 October 2023

13:34 BST 26 October 2023

David Willis
Reporting from Washington

Eyewitnesses say a bowling alley in the small city of Lewiston, to the north of Portland, Maine, was packed with people when a man armed with a military-style assault rifle burst in and opened fire.

A bar and grill a few miles away was also targeted and it's estimated that - as well as the dead - around 50 people were injured in the two attacks.

The entire area remains under lockdown and hundreds of police officers are currently searching for 40-year-old US army reservist Robert Card who, it is understood, was known by local law enforcement officers to be suffering from mental health issues.

Officials earlier released surveillance images of a bearded man brandishing what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.

This is already the deadliest mass shooting in the US this year and President Biden interrupted a dinner with Australia’s prime minister to offer federal support.

With the suspected gunman still at large, armed police officers have been photographed stationed around a local hospital in Lewiston, Maine.

Central Maine Medical Center, the city's main hospital, is less than three miles (4.8km) from both the restaurant and bowling alley where the shootings took place.

A statement issued by the hospital earlier on Thursday - which is no longer live on its website, but can be viewed here , external- said staff were "reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event" but did not provide details of how many are injured.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It's approaching 08:00 in the north-eastern US state of Maine, where last night a gunman carried out mass shootings in the small city of Lewiston.

Hundreds of police officers are on a manhunt to find the person responsible, and multiple towns are under lockdown. If you're just joining us, or need a recap, here's where things stand:

• At least 16 people are feared dead after a gunman targeted a restaurant (Schemengees Bar & Grille) and bowling alley (Sparetime Recreation) on Wednesday night in Lewiston, a small city in Maine
• Several others were injured and have been taken to local hospitals
• Robert Card, 40, has been named as a person of interest, with police warning members of the public that he is "armed and dangerous"
• A "shelter in place" order is in effect in Lewiston and nearby towns Auburn, Lisbon and Bowdoin - residents in these towns and cities have been told by police not to leave their homes, schools are closed, and businesses can't operate as usual
• Eyewitnesses have been sharing their accounts of the shootings, with one mother telling local media she lay on top of her 11-year-old daughter at Sparetime Recreation to protect her

We're expecting to hear more from the US as people wake up to these developments, so stay with us for the latest.

A man who was working at a foundry close to Schemengees restaurant, one of the two known shooting locations, has described hearing gunshots nearby.

Jeremy Janes spoke to local US media outside a hospital in Lewiston, Maine. Janes said that once he heard gunshots he "immediately" locked down, closing the doors and then shop entirely.

A friend of Janes's said his son was shot but "was doing OK".

"We're hoping and praying that everyone's OK, and he's OK," Janes told NBC Boston.

Barbara Tasch
Live reporter

I've a bit more from my conversation with Susan Sharon now - the deputy news director at Maine Public Radio - who's been at a centre where witnesses are being reunited with families and loved ones.

She tells me that residents are still being told to shelter as police continue their search for the "armed and dangerous" gunman.

Police earlier named Robert Card, a 40-year-old firearms instructor, as a person of interest.

"Earlier in the evening, residents, including me, received text messages advising us to shelter in place and lock the doors because of an active shooter situation," Sharon says, adding there is a heavy police presence in Auburn as well as in Lewiston and Lisbon - all very close to one another.

At a press conference, Maine's public safety commissioner said there are "hundreds of law enforcement personnel assisting with the investigation."

There will be a police press conference later today, at around 10:30 local time (15:30 BST).

The police order for people to stay in their homes has now been expanded to the town of Bowdoin, which is about half an hour from Lewiston.

A statement from Maine State Police said:

In an earlier post on X, police described Robert Card, who they've said is a person of interest, as being a Bowdoin resident.

The so-called "shelter in place" order has also been issued in Lewiston, where the shootings took place, Auburn and Lisbon, according to police statements and US media.

Image source, Getty Images

Following the events of last night, a question some may have is how common are mass shootings in Maine?

The north-eastern US state has the 40th highest rate of gun deaths in America - out of 50 states and Washington DC - according to data by Everytown for Gun Safety.

Unlike the rest of the country, gun-related homicides are far less prevalent in Maine. They account for 7% of gun-related deaths there, whereas suicide makes up 89% of all the state's gun-related deaths.

Nationally, the picture is quite different. Around 36% of gun-related deaths in the US are homicides, according to data from the same organisation, which adds that the number of gun deaths in Maine had risen by 20% between 2009 and 2018.

Brady, another organisation, which aims to end gun violence, says that based on gun violence statistics in the US, an average 117 people are shot and killed daily in the country.

Reacting to news of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Brady's president Kris Brown said on X: "This isn't the 'land of the free' when we aren't free from the daily threat of being shot and killed".

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Speaking from the city at the centre of the police lockdown, Lewiston's local newspaper editor said "no one really knows how to process" what she described as "by far the largest mass shooting we’ve ever had in Maine".

Marla Hoffman, of the Sun Journal, told BBC 5Live earlier that the situation on the ground is "very much fluid" and local media are struggling to get information about fatalities from police.

Describing the security operation in Lewiston, Hoffman said: "The police force really isn’t that large. It’s enough to cover the community. Lewiston is no stranger to crime, we got hit hard by the opioid crisis.

"We’ve hung in there through a lot but this is so much different from anything we’ve had to deal with."

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A tribute to the victims of these shootings has been posted on the Facebook page of Schemengees Bar and Grille, the Lewiston restaurant targeted by the gunman.

It reads:

As we've been reporting, the second shooting location was a bowling alley called Sparetime Recreation, about a 10 minute drive away.

Another witness, who says they were at the bowling alley, has been talking to reporters in the US.

Brandon, who didn't give his surname, told the Associated Press news agency that he was putting on his bowling shoes when the shooting began.

"I've been barefoot for five hours," he goes on to say.

He describes seeing the shooter, before running down a bowling lane. Brandon climbed up and hid where the bowling pins are kept for around 10 minutes until police officers arrived.

We'll continue to bring you witnesses accounts of what happened as we get them.

Barbara Tasch
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

I've spent the morning contacting officials and local outlets in Maine, trying to get as much detail as possible about the shootings last night.

One of the people I've been speaking to is Susan Sharon, the deputy news director at Maine Public Radio, who tells me hospitals in the area have been filled with families "showing up to await word on a loved one's condition".

She also describes how helicopters have been flying to and from the hospital, presumably transporting victims.

When we talk, Sharon tells me she has just returned to Auburn - next to Lewiston, separated by the Androscoggin river - where a reunification centre has been set up for witnesses to reconnect with family members.

Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque told reporters, including Sharon, that some people had been informed at the centre that their loved ones were some of those who had been killed.

"We're gonna get through this," she says Levesque told them.

It's nearing 05:00 in Maine and we're beginning to see images of some of the armed officers tasked with finding the gunman who committed these shootings in Lewiston.

They're seen gathering in the Lisbon High School gymnasium - Lisbon is about 15 minutes from Lewiston - and getting their gear on.

Officials say hundreds of other offices are already out on the streets.

A statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which we reported earlier, said the manhunt would involve officers from federal agencies, as well as state and local partners.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

We're now hearing from Carl L Sheline, the mayor of Lewiston, who says the city will need "strength and grit" to recover from the mass shooting.

In a statement emailed to the BBC, he says:

Sheline also urges people in the area to follow security and safety orders while the situation is ongoing.

As we reported earlier, some businesses have been told to close and people to stay at home until the gunman is found.

Superstore chain Walmart has told local media there was no shooting at its distribution centre, which is close to the restaurant the gunman targeted (called Schemengees).

There had been unconfirmed reports circulating online that the centre may have been the scene of an incident.

But a spokesperson for Walmart told local newspaper, the Portland Press Herald, external, that was not true, adding: “We’ve accounted for all associates on the clock. There were no injuries."

We're hearing some more witness testimony now, this time from a mother who says she was with her family at Sparetime Recreation - a bowling alley that was targeted - when the shooting took place.

In an interview with ABC News, Riley Dumont said her 11-year-old daughter had been taking part in a children's bowling league at the venue when she heard several gunshots.

She said her father, who is a retired police officer, had then corralled their family into a corner.

"I was laying on top of my daughter," Dumont said, adding that her own mother then lay on top of both of them to protect them.

Dumont said she went on to see three or four apparent victims there.

Image source, EPA

Maine State Police will hold a press conference at 10:30am local time (15:30 BST) at Lewiston City Hall.

Police told the BBC that they are not confirming casualties at this point.