Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised
LEWISTON, MAINE: Nichoel Wyman Arel was driving home with a friend from Girl Scouts when they came across Sparetime Recreation, the site of the first shooting in the brutal Maine mass shootings of October 25.
According to CNN, Arel said that she saw "definitely more than a dozen" people leaving the bowling alley. The street outside was lined with police vehicles and ambulances, and officers were patting people down as they came out of the establishment.
Stating that she saw a person who looked like they "had blood all over them" but couldn't tell if they were injured themselves, Arel added, "It's all kind of a blur. I wasn't really taking in a lot of the details."
Nichoel Wyman Arel confirms children were present at the scene
"Yeah, there were kids, that's - Like, looking back, like that was probably the hardest part, seeing - just families, families pouring out of there and knowing that that happened in there while they were probably just trying to have a family night," she reportedly told CNN.
Arel's young daughter was with her as she witnessed the aftermath of the first shooting of the night.
"She was definitely scared. She's like - she started crying and said, 'This is a scary world we live in mom.' I'm like, 'I know.'"
Arel locked up the house after they reached home. She said that the fact that she owned a gun made her daughter "feel better" as she "was scared somebody was going to come into our home."
Lewiston residents have been told to shelter in place as a manhunt is underway for the "person of interest," Robert Card, 40.
Local mayor says shootings will 'impact every corner of our community'
Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque told reporters that the witnesses of the shootings in Lewiston were of all ages, including teenagers.
“You can train for this but you can never be completely prepared. It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation.”
Levesque said that he knew one high school student who was wounded while speaking with CNN.
"Auburn and Lewiston are side by side ... a river separates us. Combined, our population is around 60,000. You cannot help but know people who know someone, so this will impact every corner of our community," he said.
