The 18 people killed in two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, included a 14-year-old bowler, a shipbuilder who loved playing the game of cornhole and a sign language interpreter.
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.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The victims were remembered Sunday evening during a standing-room-only vigil at the Lewiston basilica that was attended by Gov. Janet Mills and the state’s entire congressional delegation. A bell tolled after each name was read aloud.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Below is a closer look at each of the victims:
Tricia Asselin
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 Johnson-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."
William Brackett
William Brackett, 48, who went by Billy, didn’t let being deaf interfere with anything he wanted to do, including playing multiple sports, said his father, also named William Brackett.
Basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, he loved them all. As a teenager, he served as a batboy for a high school baseball team and would stand in the dugout teaching the players sign language. As an adult, he taught children how to play basketball in a summer recreation program.
“He was just a gentle person. He was big and rugged and I guess maybe that’s why all the little kids loved him,” his father said. “They swarmed to a bigger person. Maybe they thought, ‘He’ll be our protector.’”
More recently, Billy was teaching his young daughter how to fish.
“The attention span of a 2½-year-old isn’t great, and if she got a fish, she didn’t want to touch it. But he was teaching her, and she was paying attention,” his father said.
“That’s the way he was,” he said. “If it was your kid, he’d be doing the same thing.”
At Sunday's vigil, Kevin Bohlin, a deaf community leader, signed Brackett's name along with the three other deaf Mainers who were killed. Bohlin demonstrated the ASL sign for “I love you” and asked mourners to repeat it to each other.
Brackett was a FedEx package handler. His father, William Brackett, remembered his son as "a gentle person who wouldn't hurt a fly."
Peyton Brewer-Ross
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40, was a dedicated pipefitter at Bath Iron Works who left behind a partner, young daughter and friends, members of his union said.
"All of us at Bath Iron Works are heartbroken to share that we have lost a member of our BIW family," General Dynamics Bath Iron Works said in a social media post. "We send our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of our employee Peyton Brewer-Ross, who was killed in Lewiston on Wednesday night. Peyton was a valuable part of our team, a member of the pipe shop test crew and recently assisted in the launch of Hull 523, Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124). Peyton completed the grueling coursework and on-the-job training of BIW’s rigorous apprenticeship program, graduating in 2022. He was hired just five years ago and was making a positive impact on our company. He will be sorely missed."
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers also issued a statement mourning his loss.
“The Machinists Union, representing thousands of members across the state of Maine, stands united with the people of Lewiston during this difficult and trying period. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the victims, including our own Peyton Brewer-Ross,” IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. said. “Peyton’s contribution to Local S6 and Bath Iron Works has been invaluable, and his loss is deeply felt within our union and the broader community.”
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 fiancé, 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.
A celebration of life for Brewer-Ross is scheduled to be held on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. at the Boothbay American Legion, followed by a service at Brady's Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor.
Thomas Conrad
Thomas Conrad, 34, is being remembered for his big smile, his selflessness and how great he was with children, including his young daughter, according to the Boston Globe.
Janet Gabri tells the Globe she was at Just-in-Time with her children when the killer walked in Wednesday night, and that Conrad died trying to stop the shooter.
“He gave all of us extra time to make those split second decisions to get away and save our children,” Gabri said.
Conrad had served in the Army, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, his friend Adam Stoddard told the Lewiston Sun Journal newspaper. He had recently moved back to Maine to be near his daughter.
Michael Deslauriers and Jason Walker
Michael Deslauriers Sr. confirmed in interviews and on social media that his son was one of those killed at Just-In-Time Recreation.
He said Michael Deslauriers Jr., 51, and his friend, Jason Walker, also 51, were killed at the bowling alley.
"They made sure their wives and several young children were under cover then they charged the shooter," Deslauriers wrote in a post on the Sabattus Historical Society's Facebook page.
Maxx Hathaway
Maxx Hathaway, 35, was the loving father of two girls, with a third on the way, his wife, Brenda Hathaway, told the Globe. The Hathaways were at Schemengees Bar and Grille Wednesday night. Brenda Hathaway, who is eight months pregnant, left early when their toddler started getting fussy, but Maxx Hathaway stayed behind to play pool.
His sister Kelsay Hathaway said on a GoFundMe page for the family that her brother was a full-time stay at home dad, and that he was goofy, down to earth, loved to joke around and had an uplifting attitude no matter what. He also loved playing pool, anime and gaming.
Another of Maxx Hathaway's sisters, Courtney Hathaway, shared on Facebook that she's heartbroken her older brother is gone.
"Nothing really prepares you for the sudden and shocking loss of a loved one, especially when it happens in such a tragedy," she wrote. 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."
Brian MacFarlane
Bryan MacFarlane's mother said the 40-year-old was a "gentle soul," and she has no idea why someone would want to harm so many people.
"I have no words," said Janette Randazzo, MacFarlane's mom. "I don't know why anybody would do that. Innocent people."
She says gun laws need to change.
"Maine should not have loosey-goosey gun laws," she said. "There should be no assault rifles."
Keith Macneir
Keith Macneir's son, Breslin Macneir, told NBC News his 64-year-old father was visiting him for his birthday in Lisbon, Maine, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he lived.
On the night of the shooting they were at Schemengees Bar & Grille together. When his son had to leave to attend a union meeting, he asked that he wait for him at the bar.
His son was gone for an hour or so, and in that time, the shooting happened.
"Keith was at Schemengees (making new friends, I'm sure) at the time of the shooting," Macneir's niece, Grace Chilton, wrote in a Facebook post. "Keith was the friendliest & kindest guy in any room - his loss will leave a huge hole in the lives of many, many people."
In an interview with NBC Miami, Breslin Macneir shared how he'd like people to remember his father.
"He was a good guy. He just wanted everybody to have as much fun as he was having," he said.
"Always did his best to try and take care of people around him, and, you know, just one of the everybody else to have as much fun as he was having. But that was his main goal, was just to keep everybody happy and making sure everyone else was having a good time and was safe."
Ronald Morin
Ronald Morin, 55, is being remembered for his humor, the Globe reported.
“Probably one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever been around,” friend Justin Pelletier told the Globe.
In a post on Facebook added after the shooting, Morin's son Eric Morin called him "My best friend."
Morin's daughter-in-law, Allyson Morin, said in a Facebook post that the family is beyond devastated.
Tanya Morissette, Morin's younger sister, described him in a GoFundMe post as having "an infectious personality."
"He was an incredible husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend. To know Ron, was to instantly love him. He was a man who always put others before himself and looked for the humor and positivity in even the most tragic circumstances."
Morin leaves behind a wife and two children.
Joshua Seal
Joshua Seal, a 36-year-old 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.
Seal served as an ASL interpreter for Maine's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention briefings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pine Tree Society, which provides support and services for people with disabilities, said in a Facebook post that Seal was the organization's director of interpreting services.
“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 statement said, referring to former director of Maine CDC Nirav D. Shah.
Arthur Strout
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.”
Strout was a family-oriented person who loved playing pool and cooking Italian food, Bonnie Caron, the mother of his 23-year-old son, told the Associated Press.
“He was murdered doing something he loved," Caron said. “He was just all about having fun."
"He was an incredibly fun loving, caring, exceptional human being, Father, Son, Husband, Brother, Uncle and Friend," his obituary said. "Those who knew him remember his kindness, his relentless hugs and his contagious recognizable ridiculously goofy giggle."
A memorial gathering will be held Sunday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m. at the Pinette Dillingham & Lynch Funeral Home in Lewiston.
Robert and Luceille Violette
Retiree Bob Violette, 76, and his wife Luceille, 73, died in the shootings. Bob devoted himself to his volunteer job coaching the youth bowling league that was practicing that 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.”
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.”
Lucille Violette was kind and caring, according to a GoFundMe page set up by the family, and she worked for Lewiston schools for about 50 years.
The couple is survived by their three sons — Andrew, Tom and John Violette — as well as their daughter-in-law, Cassandra, and six grandchildren, the GoFundMe said.
Steve Vozzella
Massachusetts native Steve Vozzella, 45, attended Beverly School for the Deaf, where the flags were flying at half-staff Friday.
"Those who knew him said he was a really funny guy and a really nice guy," said Stefani Timmons, the school's director. "I believe they said he was a 'wise guy,' in the nicest way possible."
He was one of four victims who were all playing in a deaf cornhole tournament when they were killed.
Vozzella worked as a letter carrier in the Lewiston area.
"He had much more life to live before it was stolen from him in an all-too-common senseless act of gun violence," National Association of Letter Carriers' President Brian L. Renfroe said in a statement. "On behalf of NALC, I send my deepest sympathies to Brother Vozzella’s family, friends and colleagues. We mourn the loss of Stephen and all the innocent victims of this tragedy. Our hearts are with Stephen’s loved ones, all of those affected and the entire town of Lewiston."
Joseph Walker
Joseph Walker, 57, 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.
On Sunday, Walker was greeting people at a trick-or-treat event hosted by an organization he leads. He smiled broadly when the kids hugged him, and accepted hugs from community members.
But he became emotional when he spoke of his son, Joseph, who normally would’ve joined him at the event.
“It’s been a tough few days, trust me. The heart doesn’t stop bleeding,” he said. “I miss him every minute. I miss him more every day."
Bill and Aaron Young
Bill Young, 44, 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," Superintendent Jim Hodgkin wrote, sharing that crisis teams would meet with school staff ahead of students arrival on Monday, Oct. 30. "My heart is broken by this and I implore you all to be patient with everyone through this process. This is going to be a process that will take a long time."
A GoFundMe page described Aaron as a gentle and thoughtful kid who enjoyed bowling, watching "Family Guy" and doing anything his dad was doing. Bill was described as a hardworking man, the breadwinner for his family who always tried to make people laugh and enjoy life to the fullest.
Bill Young is survived by his wife Cindy and daughters Lauren and Kayla.
