Maine shootings: Here’s what we know about the victims so far

The 18 people killed in two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, included a volunteer youth bowling coach known for encouraging children and a bar manager whose father said his son tried to confront the shooter and died “a hero.”

According to Maine State Police, seven people died Wednesday night at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley. Six were male and one was female. Eight more people, all male, died at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Three others died after being taken to hospitals.

The suspect, Robert Card, was found dead Friday night, officials confirmed.

Authorities said Friday that all 18 victims have been identified, and their ages range from 14 to 76 years old. Officials have not released further information beyond their names and photos provided by families of some of the victims, but some family members have been sharing their stories with U.S. media.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far.

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Tricia Asselin worked part time at the Just-in-Time Recreation bowling alley. She had Wednesday night off, but went bowling with her sister.

When she realized shots were being fired inside the bowling alley, Asselin, 53, went to call 911, but was shot and killed, relatives said.

Asselin “had a great passion for life,” and was a loving mother, “the most caring person there was,” her mother, Alicia Lachance, told NBC News.

Asselin’s cousin, Tammy Asselin, was at the bowling alley with her own daughter, Toni, who played in a youth bowling league on Wednesdays. They knew Tricia worked there, but they hadn’t seen her yet that night.

When she heard the gunfire, Tammy Asselin couldn’t find her daughter and then tripped on some bowling bags and fell. Tammy and others tried to hide, getting a table to flip over and act as a wall near a corner booth. Her daughter had gotten to an exit and was safe, she found later.

“I never prayed so hard in my life as I did that night,” she said.

She was later told that Tricia didn’t make it. She remembered her cousin as “the most fun person. She was always happy-go-lucky,” according to ABC News.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Asselin as a victim of the shooting rampage.

William “Billy” Brackett was identified by the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf as one of four community members killed.

A verified GoFundMe says Brackett competed in darts and cornhole, and leaves behind a wife and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Brackett as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Peyton Brewer-Ross was a dedicated pipefitter at Bath Iron Works who left behind a partner, young daughter and friends, members of his union said.

Brewer-Ross, of Bath, was doing something he loved — playing cornhole and enjoying friends — when he was shot to death, his brother said.

“He was a character. He didn’t meet anyone he didn’t like,” Wellman Brewer said of his younger brother.

Brewer-Ross loved the game of cornhole so much that he brought out the angled boards and beanbags at family gatherings, his brother said.

He said his fun-loving brother, a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works, was the life of the party.

“He has a Randy `Macho Man’ Savage Slim Jim jacket that he wore,” Brewer said, noting the apparel choice that originated with a flamboyant professional wrestler. “Not too many people could pull that off.”

Brewer-Ross and his fiancée, Rachael, had just celebrated the second birthday of their daughter, Elle, two weeks earlier.

“There’s a hole in our family now where he used to be. And it’s going to hurt for a while,” Wellman Brewer said.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Brewer-Ross as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Thomas Conrad was identified as a manager as Just-In-Time Recreation by family members on Facebook. Those family members said he is survived by a nine-year-old daughter.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Conrad as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Michael Deslauriers’ father told CBS News that his son was one of those killed at Just-In-Time Recreation.

His father, who shares the same name, said his son and a friend both were killed as they charged at the shooter after making sure their wives and several children were safe.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Deslauriers as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Maxx Hathaway was a full-time stay-at-home father of two daughters, his sister Kelsay wrote in a verified GoFundMe page, with a third child on the way in just over a month.

“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 wrote. “He loved anime, gaming and loved to play pool.”

His wife Brenda told the Boston Globe that the couple was at Schemengees Bar & Grille on the night of the shootings, but left early before the attack began.

Hathaway’s other sister Courtney also confirmed her brother was among the victims in a Facebook post, writing that she was “heartbroken” by the loss.

“Maxx was such a loving person and it was really something watching him become a father to two girls and there is one on the way,” she wrote.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Hathaway as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Bryan MacFarlane was part of a group in the deaf community participating in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar & Grille when he was killed, his sister Keri Brooks told CNN.

MacFarlane, an avid motorcyclist who loved his dog, M&M, had recently moved back to Maine, Brooks said.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified MacFarlane as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Keith Macneir as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Ron Morin’s family told CNN in a brief statement his death at Schemengees Bar has left them in “shock and profound grief.”

Cecile Francoeur Martin, a cousin of Morin’s wife, told the Bangor Daily News that Morin was “always smiling, happy.”

“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.”

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Morin as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Joshua Seal, a sign language interpreter, was shot and killed while playing in a cornhole tournament at Schemengees Bar with other members of the deaf community.

His wife, Elizabeth Seal, said in a Facebook post that 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.”

“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you all that Joshua Seal has passed away? no, he was murdered, in the 10/25 shooting in Lewiston. It still feels surreal,” she wrote.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement that Seal had served as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter during the state’s COVID-19 pandemic briefings, and called him a “friend.”

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Seal as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Arthur Strout was playing pool with his father at the bar. His son wanted to stay and play a couple more games, but his father, Arthur Barnard, left shortly before the shooting.

“I said, `OK,’ and he said `I love you,’ because all my kids tell me that every time we see each other,” Barnard told CBS News. “Ten minutes later, I get a phone call.”

Strout, 42, and his wife, Kristy, had a blended family of five children.

“He’s helped me raise my children since they were very, very little,” Kristy Strout told CBS. “His daughter’s only 13 and without a dad because of all of this. Because of one man’s choices, my daughter has to grow up without a father.”

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Strout as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Retiree Bob Violette, 76, devoted himself to his volunteer job coaching the youth bowling league that was practicing Wednesday night, said Patrick Poulin, whose teenage son has been a member for three years.

“He’s taught so many people over the years how to bowl, and he wasn’t getting paid,” he said. “We’ve really been focused on trying to keep the sport alive, and Bob was really an integral part of that.”

Violette’s daughter confirmed his death to WBZ-TV. Poulin described him as unfailingly approachable and caring.

“Sometimes kids are having a hard time for whatever reason, discouraged or something,” he said. “He was great at picking them up and getting them to move along from that issue and get things going in the right direction.”

Two weeks ago, Poulin was at the bowling center with his son and offered him some tips. His son resisted, but eventually took the advice and bowled a great game.

“You gave him some good instructions, so when are you going to get out here and coach with me?” Violette asked him.

Poulin replied that he’d have to think about it. Asked Thursday if he’d consider it now, he said, “Someone’s got to step back in.”

Bob Violette also participated in a couples league with his wife, Lucille, who also died in the shootings, the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston reported.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified both Bob and Lucille Violette as victims of the shooting rampage.

Stephen Vozzella, a postal worker and an active cornhole league player, was enjoying a game when he was killed, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the New England Deaf Cornhole league.

“Brother Vozzella was only 45 years old,” said NALC president Brian Renfroe 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.”

The New England Deaf Cornhole league said in a Facebook post that Vozzella took part in several tournaments in the region and “was eager to play more.”

The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf identified Vozzella as one of four members of its community who were killed in the shootings.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Vozzella as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Jason Walker as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Joe Walker was the bar manager at Schemengees Bar and Grille. His father, Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker, told NBC News on Thursday that his son was shot twice in the stomach as he went after the shooter with a butcher knife.

“He died as a hero,” he said.

Waiting for confirmation of his worst fears Wednesday night, Walker told the network he felt like his guts and neck were being “squashed.”

“And I don’t know, telling you the truth, what kind of night this is going to be from now until tomorrow when I wake up to the true facts that my son is dead — and I know he’s dead,” he said.

“I know it as well as I know I’m standing here telling you because he’s not here and he’s not at any other hospital and he’s not running the streets or he would have called us, because he manages Schemengees, so I know he was there.”

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified Walker as a victim of the shooting rampage.

Bill Young, of Winthrop, had taken his 14-year-old son Aaron to play in a youth bowling league at Just-in-Time Recreation. Both died.

“Bill was a man dedicated to his family,” his cousin, Kim McConville, told The Associated Press via social media. “He was a master auto mechanic. Always trying to be a funny guy.”

Aaron was an avid bowler who had received recognition from the youth league.

In a statement, the superintendent of Winthrop Public Schools confirmed that a high school freshman and his dad were among those killed. Jim Hodgkin’s statement said an uncle of another high school student was also killed.

“This is tremendous tragedy for our area, our town, our students, and everyone. This is uncharted territory,” Hodgkin said.

Maine’s Department of Public Safety identified both Bill and Aaron Young as victims of the shooting rampage.

—With files from the Associated Press and Reuters