At least 22 people have been killed and up to 60 wounded in a mass shooting in the US.
The shooter went on the rampage in Lewiston in Maine and is still on the run.
He was reportedly armed with an AR-15-style rifle and went on a killing spree across three separate locations.
Maine State Police and a county sheriff previously reported there had been an active shooter on Wednesday night US time but did not provide details.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office posted two photographs of the suspect on Facebook, saying he was at large.
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The county sheriff asked for the public’s help in identifying the pictured suspect, a bearded man in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans holding a rifle in the firing position.
“There is an active shooter situation in the city of Lewiston,” Maine state police said.
“Law enforcement is asking people to shelter in place. Please stay inside your home with the doors locked.”
Police were initially called to two locations — Schemengee’s Bar and Grill, and Sparetime Recreation bowling alley.
There was then an emergency alert at a Walmart distribution centre.
Legends Sports Bar and Grill owner Melinda Small said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees into cover after hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than 400m away.
Police then flooded the roadway and an officer escorted everyone out of the building four at a time.
“I am honestly in a state of shock,” ms Small said. “I am blessed that my team responded quickly and everyone is safe.
“But the same time, my heart is broken for this area and for what everyone is dealing with. I just feel numb.”
The Central Maine Medical Centre in Lewiston issued a statement saying it was “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and coordinating with area hospitals to take patients.
President Joe Biden has been briefed and will continue to receive updates, a US official said in Washington.
Maine governor Janet Mills said in a statement that she had been briefed on the situation.
Maine senator Angus King said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbours” and was monitoring the situation.
The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting in the US since at least May 2022 when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The number of US shootings in which four or more people were shot has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with 647 occurring in 2022 and 679 projected to happen in 2023, based on trends as of July.
The deadliest US mass shooting on record is the massacre of 58 people by a gunman firing on a Las Vegas country music festival from a high-rise hotel perch in 2017.
Lewiston is part of Androscoggin County and about 56km north of Maine’s largest city, Portland.
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