Another overnight shooting has rattled Lewiston, adding to a growing series of gunfire incidents that continue to plague the city’s downtown neighborhoods and raise fresh concerns about public safety.
At approximately 2:20 a.m. Saturday, July 25, Lewiston police officers patrolling the downtown area heard numerous gunshots coming from the Oak Street area. Officers immediately responded while additional 911 calls flooded dispatchers reporting shots fired.
As officers searched the neighborhood, they discovered three unoccupied vehicles that had been struck by gunfire. Investigators also found bullet damage to two buildings at 75 Oak Street and 62 Oak Street, evidence that rounds traveled through an area lined with homes and parked vehicles.
Crime scene investigators recovered nearly two dozen shell casings from the roadway.
Despite the volume of gunfire, police said no injuries have been reported.
The investigation remains active, and no suspects have been publicly identified.
Saturday’s shooting comes only days after another incident near Blake Street and Pierce Street, where gunfire struck an occupied apartment building. In that case, a bullet penetrated the exterior wall and entered a second-floor apartment while residents were inside. No one was injured.
The latest violence continues a troubling pattern that has defined much of 2026 in Lewiston. During a public briefing earlier this summer, the Lewiston Police Department reported the city had experienced 19 shootings through the end of June, matching the pace from the same period in 2025. Police also reported recovering dozens of illegally possessed firearms this year, many involving juvenile suspects, while working alongside federal partners, including the ATF, FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations, in an effort to curb the violence.
Several of those shootings have occurred in and around the downtown corridor, including incidents on Pierce Street, Walnut Street, Webster Street, Blake Street, and now Oak Street. Investigators have said many of the cases appear to stem from ongoing disputes or retaliatory violence, although innocent residents have repeatedly found themselves in the line of fire.
The frequency of the shootings has left many residents questioning whether enough is being done to restore public safety in Maine’s second-largest city. While the Lewiston Police Department has provided regular updates on enforcement efforts and ongoing investigations, Mayor Carl Sheline has largely remained silent publicly about the continuing wave of shootings, despite repeated incidents involving residential neighborhoods where bullets have struck occupied buildings and parked vehicles.
With another barrage of gunfire echoing through downtown in the early morning hours, residents are increasingly expressing concern that it may only be a matter of time before another innocent person is seriously injured or killed.
Anyone with information about Saturday morning’s shooting is asked to contact the Lewiston Police Department at 207-513-3001, extension 3324, or submit an anonymous tip by calling 207-513-3194.
