At least four people from Maine's Deaf community were murdered in the mass shooting in Lewiston

October 30, 2023

In all, 18 people were killed and 13 wounded in a mass shooting on October 25, 2023.

This is from an Associated Press article, "Maine’s close-knit deaf community grieving by Patrick Whittle, 10/28/23. It also appeared in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, 10/29/23.

“FALMOUTH, Maine – Maine’s closeknit community of deaf and hard of hearing people is grieving in the wake of the Lewiston shootings that killed beloved members, many of whom were ardent advocates.”

Joshua Seal, 36, Billy Brackett, 48, Steve Vozzella, 45, and Bryan MacFarlane, 41, were all associated with the the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf located in Falmouth, near Portland, ME. 

Seal had four deaf children who were all connected to the institutions’ educational programs, and Brackett attended the school and had a daughter who was in early intervention. MacFarlane also attended the school as a student and Vozzella’s wife, Megan, was an alumnus of the school, according to the article.

This is a sad reminder that none of us is free from the risk of being victims of gun violence, or a survivor of gun violence and living with the disabilities and psychological trauma caused by these events.