On Oct. 25, 2023, more than 750 law enforcement officers from some 50 agencies responded to dozens of locations in the Lewiston area trying to locate a mass shooter.

A trove of first-person police narratives released by Maine State Police last month documents their movements during the key first hours after the shooting, though a lack of time stamps and specifics within the reports makes it difficult to pin down the timeline of the manhunt with any precision.

It took less than two minutes for officers to arrive at Just-In-Time Recreation after the first 911 calls. And when they learned the suspect had already left the bowling alley and that another shooting had been reported at a pool hall and cornhole bar across town, police jumped back in their cruisers and got there in five minutes.

As news of the shootings reached the public, a flood of tips and speculation began to pour into dispatch centers and officers raced from scene to scene. Suspicious people were reported all over town as residents tried to help catch the killer.

A third shooting was reported at a Walmart Distribution Center shortly after 8 p.m. At least 75 officers charged ahead, breached the door and cleared the building — only to realize the shooter had never actually been there. Another false report of a shooting drew police to DaVinci’s Eatery in downtown Lewiston.

By the time the sun rose, the killer was still unaccounted for and the police force was exhausted, many of them heading home to catch a few hours of sleep before returning to the manhunt that wouldn’t end until 48 hours after the first shots rang out.