Maine Was Likely Worst-Ever Mass Shooting in US Deaf Community

Not only was last week's horrific mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, the deadliest ever mass shooting in the state, it may have also been the deadliest ever mass shooting affecting the deaf community in the US, according to advocates for the community. Steve Vozzella, Brian MacFarlane, Billy Brackett, and Joshua Seal, all of whom were deaf, were killed as they competed in a weekly cornhole tournament for deaf and hard-of-hearing people at Schemengees Bar & Grille. The tragedy was probably particularly traumatic for those participants, advocates tell USA Today, because they may not have realized they needed to take cover when others first heard the gunfire and they may also have struggled to hear cries for help or instructions from first responders.

As the executive director of deaf-focused international disaster nonprofit Off-The-Grid Missions explains, "Imagine a deaf person just got shot, they would likely not hear their friends next to them, not even the breathing to know who is alive or not, or if the gunman has left or not." "This tragedy has greatly impacted our deaf community," the director of the Maine Education Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing tells Maine Public. "We are a small, close-knit community and our community is shaken." "Many deaf people are impacted by this event. All over America," adds one of Seal's colleagues, an interpreter. "This is the first time in history that we have lost that many deaf people at once in a mass shooting." (More Maine mass shooting stories.)