Lewiston Police are investigating a shooting that occurred on Monday outside of an immigrant advocacy nonprofit’s building.
Police say that just before 3 p.m. on Monday, officers responded to 256 Bartlett St., the address of the Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) building, for reports of gunshots.
MEIRS, originally formed in Lewiston in 2008 as the Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine, is one of the largest migrant advocacy organizations in the state by revenue, and is one of three nonprofits in the state designated by the federal government to be a refugee resettlement agency.
[RELATED: Migrant Resettlement Agency Chronically Over-billed MaineCare, Has Not Repaid Taxpayers: Audit…]
According to police, upon arrival at the scene, witness told officers that a young black male had approached the MEIRS building and had fired multiple rounds toward the building and nearby parked vehicles.
Police recovered numerous shell casings at the scene, and obtained video footage of the incident from surrounding businesses.
The male suspect was last seen fleeing toward the wooded area behind Paradise Park, police said.
WATCH:
Police say the area around the immigrant nonprofit center has experienced a high volume of shooting incidents of the past year.
They asked anyone with information to contact Lewiston Police Detective Brian Rose at brose@lewistonmaine.gov.
The MEIRS center is very close to the Masjidu Salaam Mosque on Bartlett Street, the site of two other recent shootings.
[RELATED: Lewiston Police Say Victim, Mosque Members Uncooperative with Shooting Investigation…]
