Sep. 5—Gov. Janet Mills will speak publicly for the first time Friday afternoon about the findings of the commission she tasked with investigating the Lewiston shooting.
Mills is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. at the State House in Augusta. After the commission shared its final findings last month, the governor said in a statement that she needed time to review and evaluate the 45-page report before addressing the public.
The group of seven legal and medical experts, handpicked by Mills in the weeks after the Oct. 25 shooting that left 18 dead, spent more than eight months investigating the many warning signs that went unaddressed before the massacre.
Their report focused especially on steps that the gunman’s Army Reserve commanders and the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office did not take after learning of violent threats he had made against his unit’s Saco base.
But the report did not recommend specific policy changes that might prevent future shootings. According to the chair, Daniel Wathen, that would have been outside the bounds of mission set by Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey: to “determine the facts” around the shooting.
In a news release Thursday, Mills highlighted several law and budget initiatives aimed at improving public safety and mental health resources that she signed after the shooting, including improvements to Maine’s yellow flag law — which the commission said a Sagadahoc deputy should have used to disarm the gunman a month before the attack.
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Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
