Campus Alert Archive
USM

Shelter in Place: A University Campus Inside the Lewiston Manhunt

MEshelter in placeemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the night of October 25, 2023, Robert Card killed 18 people and wounded 13 others at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, in the deadliest mass shooting in state history. The University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn campus sat inside the shelter-in-place zone that authorities imposed across Lewiston and surrounding towns during the two-day manhunt. USM closed its Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, and Gorham campuses, and classes were canceled on October 26 as the gunman remained at large.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Southern Maine
Public Masters · ME
~7,000 studentsUSM Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction194 chars
USM ALERT: Active shooter situation in Lewiston. Shelter in place now. Lock doors, stay away from windows, and do not travel in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Suspect at large. Await further updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording: USM's specific alert text for this night was not preserved in available archives, so isVerbatimConfirmed is false. The shelter-in-place instruction reflects the regional order imposed across Lewiston and surrounding towns.
USM's Lewiston-Auburn campus lies within the city where the shootings occurred, placing it inside the active shelter-in-place zone rather than merely near it.
The Lewiston attacks began around 7 PM EDT on October 25, 2023; this alert is dated to the hours afterward as the manhunt and shelter order spread.
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction248 chars
USM ALERT: Due to the ongoing law enforcement response in Lewiston and the search for the suspect, all USM campuses (Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston-Auburn) are closed and classes are canceled today. Continue to follow guidance from law enforcement.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reporting that USM's campuses were closed and classes canceled on October 26, 2023 while the suspect remained at large; isVerbatimConfirmed is false.
Labeled an update rather than an all-clear because the suspect was still at large and the shelter posture remained in effect; restrictions were not lifted.
Robert Card was not found (dead of a self-inflicted gunshot) until October 27, 2023, so no genuine all-clear could be issued on the 26th.
Context

Background

The October 25, 2023 Lewiston shootings — at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar & Grille — left 18 dead and 13 wounded and launched a two-day manhunt for Robert Card across central and southern Maine. Authorities imposed a shelter-in-place order on Lewiston and surrounding communities, and schools, businesses, and colleges across the region locked down or closed. The University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn campus is physically located in the affected city, and USM closed all three of its campuses — Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston-Auburn — with classes canceled October 26 as the search continued. Neighboring institutions including Bates College and Central Maine Community College also canceled classes. The manhunt ended on October 27 when Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Lisbon. The case shows how a campus that is not itself attacked can still sit inside the operational footprint of a mass shooting, forcing emergency-notification-level shelter and closure decisions a full day or more before any all-clear is possible.
Analysis

Key Findings

USM's Lewiston-Auburn campus sat inside the city-wide shelter-in-place zone imposed after the October 25, 2023 Lewiston mass shooting
The shooting killed 18 and wounded 13 at a bowling alley and bar, not on any campus, but the manhunt closed USM's Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston-Auburn campuses
Classes were canceled October 26 while the suspect remained at large; no all-clear was possible until Card was found dead October 27
The case demonstrates how off-campus violence can pull a university into an emergency-notification shelter posture for more than a day
Outcome
The 18 fatalities and 13 wounded were at the bowling alley and bar, not on any USM campus. USM's Lewiston-Auburn campus was within the regional shelter-in-place order, and the university closed its campuses and canceled classes until the suspect was found dead on October 27, 2023.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    With shooting suspect still at large, Maine colleges remained closed Thursday - WBUR
    wbur.org
  2. News
    Schools and businesses closed, Halloween celebrations canceled as manhunt continues - Maine Public
    mainepublic.org
  3. Source
    2023 Lewiston shootings - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  4. News
    Robert Card, suspect in Lewiston shooting, is dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot - CNN
    cnn.com
Tags
shelter-in-placemaineuniversity-of-southern-mainelewistonmass-shootingemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion