What we know about the victims of the Maine mass shooting
By Jeanne Bonner, Jay Croft and Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) — For the victims of the mass shooting Wednesday night in Lewiston, Maine, it was an ordinary night out.
Some were participating in a cornhole tournament while others were enjoying a meal. Then a shooter ended their fun.
And now another American community is grieving as the identities of those friends and loved ones whose lives were lost emerge.
The suspect in the shooting rampage that left 18 people dead and 13 others wounded at a restaurant and bowling alley was found dead Friday evening after a two-day manhunt, authorities said. Robert Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound along a river in nearby Lisbon Falls, according to state Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck.
All the victims were identified Friday by officials. The oldest killed in the shootings was a 76-year-old man and the youngest was a 14-year-old boy bowling with his father.
It is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States this year, and the worst since a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas, last year. Overall, at least 566 mass shootings have happened this year across the country, with four or more shot excluding the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Here’s what we know so far about the victims:
Tricia Asselin
Tricia Asselin, 53, was the heart of her tight-knit family and worked as a part-time employee at the bowling alley, Just-in-Time Recreation, her siblings told CNN.
Even on her night off on Wednesday, Asselin was at Just-in-Time, her brother told CNN.
“What I’m told is that when it all started happening, she ran up to the counter and started to call 911, and that’s when she was shot,” DJ Johnson told CNN. “That was just her. She wasn’t going to run. She was going to try and help.”
His other sister was also there and was able to escape, Johnson said.
Stephen “Steve” Vozzella
Stephen Vozzella was an active member of the New England Deaf Cornhole community and someone who brought excitement and a smile to competitions, according to statements from his brother and The National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents city delivery letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service.
“Brother Vozzella was only 45 years old,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said in a statement. “He had much more life to live before it was stolen from him in an all-too-common senseless act of gun violence.”
In a statement about the tragedy, the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf noted Vozzella’s death and said the attack took the lives of several in their community.
“We lost four of our cherished community members in last night’s Lewiston shootings. Including two fathers of children in our programs,” the school’s executive director, Karen Hopkins, said in a Facebook post. “Some of our staff were very close to these members of our community.”
Vozzella, who was an active cornhole player, also participated in several tournaments in the region organized by the New England Deaf Cornhole league.
“With sadly and heavy hearts, NEDC has lost a member of our community, Steve Vozzella. He was one the victims lost in the shooting in Maine,” the organization wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. It noted he’d brought “excitement” and a “huge smile” to competitions. “He will be missed on and off the courts!”
The New England Deaf Cornhole league plans to hold a moment of silence in Vozzella’s honor during an upcoming tournament in November, the group said in their post.
Peyton Brewer-Ross
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 39, was participating in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant when he was killed, his brother Ralph Brewer told CNN. Brewer-Ross loved playing cornhole and enjoying hanging out with friends at Schemengees.
Brewer-Ross “loved being a dad more than anything else,” his brother said. Two weeks ago, Brewer-Ross celebrated the second birthday of his daughter, Elle.
Thomas “Tommy” Conrad
Tommy Conrad, 34, was identified as one of the victims of the Lewiston mass shootings. Conrad was the manager at the bowling alley and is survived by his 9-year-old daughter, his family confirmed to CNN affiliate WMTW.
Michael Deslauriers II
Michael Deslauriers II, 51, was killed while attempting to charge at the shooter at the bowling alley, his father, Michael Deslauriers Sr., said on Facebook.
Deslauriers Sr., who is the chairman of the Sabattus Historical Society, announced on the organization’s Facebook page that his son and his friend died trying to stop the shooter.
“They made sure their wives and several young children were under cover then they charged the shooter,” Deslauriers Sr. said.
Deslauriers Sr. described making the announcement as the “hardest news for a father to ever have to share.”
Jason Walker
Jason Walker, 51, was identified as one of the victims in the shooting rampage, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck.
Bryan MacFarlane
Bryan MacFarlane, 40, was participating in the cornhole tournament at Schemengees when he was killed, his sister Keri Brooks told CNN.
MacFarlane, who’s part of the local deaf community, usually goes to Schemengees on Wednesdays where people from the deaf community gather to play cornhole, Brooks said.
Arthur “Artie” Strout
Arthur “Artie” Strout, 42, was at Schemengees during the shooting, his father, Arthur Bernard, told CNN affiliate WBZ.
Bernard said he had just left Schemengees when he received the heartbreaking call that there was an active shooter.
Strout’s family thought he was at the hospital but learned the news of his death on Thursday. He leaves behind five children.
Joseph “Joey” Walker
Leroy Walker, a city councilor in Auburn, Maine, told CNN affiliate WGME, his son, Joseph Walker, 57, was one of the victims at Schemengees. Walker said state police told his son’s wife that Joseph, the manager of the bar, picked up a knife and went after the gunman to try and stop him from killing other people and that’s when Joseph was shot to death.
After 14 hours of waiting, Walker said he and his family were notified of Joseph’s death.
“I’m very proud of my son,” Leroy Walker said on CNN on Friday morning, adding his son was a loving person who will be missed by thousands. “I know that definitely he would do this all over again.
“For someone to do this to so many families, as well as my own, it’s just crazy. It just leaves you an empty hole that I don’t know how it will ever be filled.”
He said he has no hatred for the killer.
“You have to put that out of your mind,” he said. “You have to let the Lord do whatever needs to be done. If you hate, and the hate drives you crazy, you’re going to hurt people. Hate will never bring my son back.”
Joshua Seal
Beloved American Sign Language interpreter Joshua Seal had been taking part in the cornhole tournament for deaf athletes at Schemengees when he was killed Wednesday, according to his wife, says CNN affiliate, WGME.
Seal’s employer, Pine Tree Society, said in a Facebook statement that Seal, 36, was the director of interpreting services.
Seal gained attention during the pandemic as one of the lead interpreters for the deaf for Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Dr. Nirav Shah during the daily Covid-19 briefings.
“He was a husband, a father of four and a tireless advocate for the Deaf community. He was committed to creating safe space for Deaf people and was widely known as the ASL interpreter for Dr. Shah’s pandemic briefings. The ripple effects of his loss will be felt by countless Maine people,” reads the Facebook post.
In a Facebook tribute to her husband, Elizabeth Seal says he was a supportive father who loved spending time with his children.
“He (Joshua) always loved spending time with them, traveling, going for a day trip to the beach, or going camping for the weekend,” Seal’s wife said. “Not only was he an amazing father, he was a wonderful husband, my best friend, and my soulmate. He was also a wonderful boss, an incredible interpreter, a great friend, a loving son, brother, uncle, and grandson. He loved his family and always put them first. That is what he will always be remembered for.”
Keith Macneir
Keith Macneir, 64, was identified as one of the victims in the shooting rampage, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck.
Maxx Hathaway
Maxx Hathaway was a full-time, stay-at-home dad of two, with a third child on the way, his sister, Kelsay Hathaway said.
“He was a goofy, down to earth person, loved to joke around and always had an uplifting attitude no matter what was going on,” Kelsay Hathaway said in a verified GoFundMe campaign she set up. “Brenda (his wife), the girls, his family and friends meant the world to him, and his loss will be felt among the communities that he was a part of and grew up in.”
Hathaway’s wife is due in a little over a month, Kelsay Hathaway said.
Maxx, 35, was at Schemengees when the gunman attacked.
His wife, Brenda Hathaway, was at the bar that night when her toddler, Lilian, started to get fussy. She told the Boston Globe that she left early while Maxx stayed behind to play pool.
“With what support we can get, we would love to be able to provide Brenda with assistance for childcare, celebration of life, groceries, etc since she will soon have a new member of the family,” Kelsay wrote on the GoFundMe campaign.
In a separate social media post, Hathaway’s other sister, Courtney Hathaway, said she’s shocked and heartbroken.
“I lost my big brother in the tragic mass shooting last night. I’m feeling a lot of things right now but I’m mostly heartbroken that he’s gone. Nothing really prepares you for the sudden and shocking loss of a loved one, especially when it happens in such a tragedy,” Courtney Hathaway said in a Facebook post. “Maxx was such a loving person, and it really was something watching him become a father to two girls and there is one on the way. We’re all going to miss him.
Robert “Bob” Violette
Bob Violette, 76, was teaching a youth bowling league at Just-In-Time Recreation when the gunfire broke out. His loved ones believe Violette died protecting his students from the bullets, according to CNN affiliate WBZ.
“Bob’s helped with the youth league for as long as I can remember,” Violette’s friend Brandon Dubuc told WBZ. “If he was there with those kids, he was protecting those kids. I have no doubt about that.”
Witnesses said Violette stood between the shooter and the children in his bowling league to keep them safe, according to the Portland Press Herald.
“I was told that he got the worst of it, and that’s what really kills me – because he was trying to protect someone else,” his daughter-in-law Cassandra Violette told the Press Herald.
Violette’s family described him to the Press Herald as a person who made everyone feel comfortable and cared for.
He died days away from celebrating his 77th birthday, relatives told WBZ.
Lucille Violette
Lucille Violette, 73, the wife of victim Bob Violette, was also identified as one of the victims in the shooting rampage, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck.
William “Bill” Young and Aaron Young
Bill Young, a father who is described as the rock of the family, and his 14-year-old son, Aaron, were bowling together when they were both killed.
Young and his son were playing a game at Just-In-Time Recreation when the gunman entered the building, Aaron’s sister and Bill’s step-daughter Kayla Putnam told CNN affiliate WCVB.
Aaron, who is missed dearly by his friends, was an honor student at school and was really proud of his grades, according to Putnam.
Bill was an auto mechanic, Putnam said, and the rock of the family.
“He’s going to be very missed,” Putnam told WCVB. “It’s going to be very hard for the family right now to deal without him because he was kind of the center of the family and everything,”
Bill’s brother, Rob, described his older brother as a hardworking man who loved his family. “He was always trying to make people laugh and always enjoyed life to the fullest,” Rob said in a verified GoFundMe. “I couldn’t have asked for a better big brother.”
Rob described his nephew Aaron, who was a sophomore in high school, as a gentle and thoughtful kid who enjoyed doing anything his father did.
Ronald “Ron” Morin
Ron Morin, 55, was at Schemengees Bar and Grille when the gunfire started. His death has left his family in “shock and profound grief,” his family member Cecile Francoeur Martin told CNN.
Martin, the cousin of Morin’s wife, says the family is “asking for prayers and privacy during this incredible time of shock and profound grief.”
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, Martin described Morin as a gregarious, upbeat and happy person.
Martin told the outlet Morin was “just one of those people that if you are having a bad day, he was going to make your day better just by his presence.”
William Frank Brackett
William Frank Brackett, 48, was identified as one of the victims in the shooting rampage, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck.
CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Elizabeth Wolfe, Sara Smart, Paradise Afshar, Amanda Jackson, Cara Lynn Clarkson and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.
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