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Janet Mills announces independent commission to investigate Lewiston mass shooting

Cars drive by a sign that says “hopeful” in Lewiston, Maine on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (Raquel C. Zaldívar/New England News Collaborative)
Raquel C. Zaldívar
/
New England News Collaborative
Cars drive by a sign that says “hopeful” in Lewiston, Maine on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (Raquel C. Zaldívar/New England News Collaborative)

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday that she plans to create an independent commission to discover and review the facts leading up to and after the worst mass shooting in Maine history.

The governor said in a statement that the commission will probe how the gunman who killed 18 people and wounded more than a dozen others was able carry out the shootings despite multiple warnings from family, law enforcement and his colleagues in the Army Reserves that his mental health was deteriorating.

Mills said the commission will be independent of the after-action report that will be performed by the Maine State Police.

While the membership of the commission is not yet known, Mills said that it will be created in consultation with the Maine attorney general's office and that it will be made up of legal, investigative and mental health experts.

More details are expected to be announced next week.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.