Moments before a man opened fire in a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, Thomas Giberti was watching a youth bowling league play.
"Somebody mentioned there was a screw or something loose in a piece of equipment, so he had gone down to the back of the bowling alley to get a screw driver," said Will Bourgault, Giberti's nephew.
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The former manager of Just In Time Recreation knew his way around the bowling alley well, so Bourgault said when he returned and saw the flashes of gunfire, he did not hesitate to guide people out.
"He noticed that the kids on those six lanes were trying to take cover, so he yelled to them, got their attention and motioned to come towards him," said Bourgault. "All the kids ran across the lane and he was able to get them to the back of the bowling alley through the doorway."
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Bourgault creds his uncle with saving multiple lives. As Giberti followed them out, he was shot several times in both legs.
"He's very humble, and he doesn't consider himself a hero. He basically said, 'I just reacted.' I said, 'Well, that's what heroes do, they just react, you know, you could have run out the back door, you could have froze, you could have done nothing, but you didn't, and that's what the rest of the world sees,'" said Bourgault.
Bourgault said his uncle is in a lot of pain, but he was released from the hospital.
"They weren't able to take the bullets out of his leg, they are still in there, so, you know, he's going to go back in the next couple days and have some stitches taken out and stuff like that, but I mean, he basically, he has a walker, and he's getting up when he can and try to move around," said Bourgault. "We're just thankful we are very grateful he was able to survive this. As much as we want to celebrate his heroic act and stuff like that, at the same time, for him, he's dealing with the fact that he lost three or four really good friends in the bowling alley that night."
After opening fire in the bowling alley, the gunman continued his rampage at Schemengees Bar and Grille, where 25-year-old Kyle Secor was competing in a weekly cornhole tournament with friends when he was shot multiple times.
"Kyle is a fighter. We knew he was going to fight this with all he has," said Nick Withee, director of communications and community relations for Maine Nordiques, the semiprofessional hockey team in Lewiston.
He said Secor moved to Maine in 2015 to play for the team. Sunday night, Withee said the team took Secor's jersey with them to their game in Philadelphia.
"Kyle's jersey hung behind the bench, and every team gets line charts before the game. There was the 14 on the back of the line charts, so everyone knew everyone was supporting Kyle," said Withee. "Not only were we fighting for Kyle, we were fighting for this community, as well. [Lewiston-Auburn] Strong has been the message, One Lewiston has been the message."
Monday, Withee hung Secor's jersey over the seat where he would keep score at their games.
He said Secor's family shared an update that the married father of two suffered severe injuries to his abdomen and legs, and was "not out of the woods yet," but he is alive and awake — "two things they weren't sure would be possible days ago."
"He definitely has a mountain to climb, but he has been responsive to some familiar voices," said Withee. "Takes a lot out of him to respond, but things are looking better here as time progresses."
"Kyle is the type of person that would do anything for anyone," said Rachel Jalbert-Palian.
She was part of Secor's billet, or host family, when he went to Maine to play for the Nordiques. She said it wasn't long before he became family.
"It's hard knowing that we almost lost him," she said through tears. "He was there for me when I had cancer, and he helped my husband at the house. He's a good kid. Unfortunately, he's got to go through something like this. He's a fighter. He'll pull through."
