Today is Thursday, October 26, 2023. So far, the death toll from yet another mass shooting – this time, in Lewiston, Maine – has reached 18 innocent victims. The count is not even a definitive one, as the suspect, a 40-year-old apparently suffering from mental issues, has still not been apprehended by police. More details are emerging from this still-developing story in an online CNN article by Simon Prokupecz, John Miller, and Eric Levinson entitled “Law enforcement at Lewiston shooting suspect’s last-known address issues command to ‘come out with your hands up.'”

Law enforcement officials were outside the suspect’s last-known address in yesterday’s horrific shooting in Maine that left 18 fatalities and have been heard saying “come out with you hands up,” according to CNN teams on the scene.

This activity came amid an extensive manhunt for the suspect – whose name I won’t mention here – who is the principal suspect in a shooting at a bowling alley and at a restaurant in the small community of Lewiston. The mass killings injured at least 13 others, according to Governor Janet Mills.

An arrest warrant was issued for the 40-year-old suspect, accusing him of murder, Maine State Police Col. William Ross said during a Thursday news conference. Officials said, he “should be considered armed and dangerous.”

The suspected gunman is a certified firearms instructor and a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, law enforcement officials in Maine told CNN. He had recently threatened to carry out a shooting at a National Guard facility in Saco, Maine, and reported mental health issues, including hearing voices, the officials said.

The suspect’s family is urging him to surrender, his brother Ryan, confirmed to CNN via a text message. He would not tell CNN if his brother has responded to the family’s requests, but given that he hasn’t been seen since the initial slaughter which was close to 7 p.m. last night, the answer is probably a definitive no.

With an unthinkable death toll of 18 adults and children, the rampage appears to be the deadliest mass shooting of the year in the United States and the deadliest since a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022. There have been a shocking 565 mass shootings this year across the country, with four or more shot excluding the perpetrator, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Of the 18 victims in Lewiston, seven were found dead at the bowling alley Just-In-Time Recreation and eight were found deceased at Schemengees Bar & Grille, while three others died at the hospital, William Ross said.

Central Maine Medical Center took in 14 patients over about 45 minutes Wednesday evening, Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Alexander said at a midday news conference on Thursday. Eight patients are still hospitalized, including three in critical condition (that’s why the count is still not conclusive) and five in stable condition. In addition, three died, two were discharged and one was transferred, he said.

The governor, Janet Mills, plaintively informed, “This is a dark day for Maine,” at the news conference. “It’s hard for us to think about healing when our hearts are broken.”

By Thursday morning, the entire Lisbon Police Department had been called in to hunt for the perpetrator and make sure businesses were closed, Chief Ryan McGee said.

As this latest mass shooting has forever changed the lives of those who survived and those who lost loved ones in this gruesome slaughter, our impotent lawmakers in Washington will issue the obligatory and meaningless “thoughts and prayers” monologue to the people affected by this latest explosion of gun violence.

From one other article on this horrible reality, “anywhere can become the venue for the next preventable tragedy.” In this most recent case, a bowling alley and a restaurant and grill were the scenes of this peculiarly American carnage. We all know that theaters, school campuses, supermarkets, synagogues, churches, and anywhere else is fair game for a mass shooting. Even the subway system is not immune, as evidenced by New York’s brush with this insanity from last year when a gunman sprayed a subway car with gunfire in April 2022.

Whatever the motive or motives for these senseless murders, there has to be a recognition of the easy availability of deadly weapons – legally and illegally – that gives people the capacity to wreak wholesale carnage.

The sickening regularity of people being gunned down as they work, shop, and even play is raising growing questions about the extent to which one person’s freedom to bear arms suppresses another’s rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many gun advocates are not willing to even entertain this issue. The same applies to the perennial debate whether constitutional guarantees necessarily mean people should be able to buy high-powered weapons of war for personal use.

As we go through the motions of acknowledging the tragedy of this newest mass shooting, we cannot ignore the reality of exposing our children, our most vulnerable citizens, to this appalling lack of safety in once-safe venues. The emotional toll on our children is incalculable. In the meantime, no one and nowhere is immune from the possibility of a sudden eruption of violence.

The only good thing from this event – if you can call it that, even – is that Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) has reversed his opposition to banning assault weapons in response to the tragedy in Maine. We need more repugnicans changing their positions, and I’m afraid, we won’t see that happening anytime soon.

Just as I was typing away on this latest situation, I just heard that the Pentagon has announced the U.S. military has hit two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran in “self-defense strikes.” Sheesh! Here’s the latest developing story; more to come tomorrow. I hope this doesn’t escalate into anything more intensive. That’s all we need!

Stay safe and be well.