Victims were bowling, playing cornhole when gunman opened fire in Lewiston, Maine
LEWISTON, Maine - It was the sudden sound of repeated bangs that sent Bobbi Nichols and others at Just In Time Recreation running just as she was enjoying the Wednesday night bowling league with her sister Tricia Asselin.
"Everybody was yelling 'it's a gun, it's a gun, run, run,'" said Nichols. "Somebody inside said she called 911 and don't worry, don't worry."
But as Tricia Asselin called 911, witnesses say she was shot and killed, allegedly by Robert Card. Card is accused of killing 18 people in the bowling alley and at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Card was found dead Friday night, ending a 48 hour manhunt.
READ: Victims identified in Lewiston shootings
Nichols finally learned from an employee what she knew in her heart. "She told me 'I'm sorry' and I knew. I went right to my knees," Nichols said.
Her family says she's a mother who worked three jobs and will be remembered as the selfless person she was that night. "Everyone knew her to be the person to help everyone before herself," said Asselin's niece Shannon Desrosiers.
It's a profound loss as well for the deaf community in the region. Four of the victims were hearing impaired including Billy Brackett, Joshua Seal and Bryan MacFarlane who were all playing cornhole at Schemengees Bar and Grille.
"I hold them in my heart, and our staff I hold close to my heart and trying to help them all breathe," said Karen Hopkins, executive director of the Maine Education Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Joshua Seal, a father of four, and Billy Brackett with one child were both graduates of the school where their children are now students.
The school remains closed for now but is trying to support their tight knit community. "It's shock for sure, sadness, anger, thinking about the children of these families," said Hopkins.