At least 22 people dead after US mass shooting

Breaking news

The shooting began at 18.56 local time (22.56GMT) on Wednesday evening at a bowling alley and a nearby restaurant.

Police have named 40-year-old Robert Card as a person of interest and have said that he should be considered "armed and dangerous".

At the time of writing, the gunman remains at large.

The complete death toll has not yet been confirmed but it is believed to be at least 22, with unconfirmed reports of a further 50 people injured

Lewiston has a population of just 38,000 people and is the second largest city in Maine after Portland.

Billy Jayne Cooke, who is running for the city council in Lewiston, told the BBC that she had ben leaving an event when the shooting broke out.

She said: "Helicopters, sirens, I've never heard so much activity in my life in this city. We have police from all over the state, from out of the state, coming up.

"The whole city's on lockdown. It's horrible. You just don't think that's ever going to happen and it did."

The Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office have released images of Robert Card who they believe to be the shooter.

The images show him in a brown sweater carrying a firearm walking into a building.

Card is a firearms instructor who was trained by the US military at a facility in the city of Saco, Maine.

He's also believed to have spent time at a mental health centre this summer after threatening to commit a shooting at the military base.

Authorities have also shared images of a white vehicle with its front bumper painted black.

They asked anyone who recognises it to contact police immediately.

The Central Maine Medical Centre have said that they are responding to a "mass casualty, mass shooter event".

They are currently coordinating with other hospitals in the area to treat the injured.