Refugee-Transformed Lewiston Gripped by Youth Gun Violence Crisis as Residents Say They Fear for Their Lives

Lewiston, Maine — a New England city transformed by an influx of refugees and immigrants — is now grappling with a youth gun-violence crisis, as police report 35 gun-related incidents this year, 22 of them involving juveniles.

"I don't feel safe. I fear for my life," Mohamed Muhumed, a Lewiston teenager, said. "I saw someone get punched in the middle of the sidewalk over there. It's crazy." His words capture the fear spreading among young people in the city.

Lewiston is Maine's second most populous city and home to a large population of refugees from Somalia and other African nations. Lewiston Police Chief Carly Conley has called the gun violence "one of the most serious public safety challenges" facing the city.

Jon Fetherston, a reporter who has reported extensively on the issue, said the gun violence in Lewiston is very concerning and that the majority of it has been committed by teenagers. He said teenagers have multiple times been arrested and immediately released by the courts back onto the streets.

Fetherston added that the court systems are being tapped, the district attorney is frustrated that the courts are not putting these young offenders away, residents are scared and very frustrated, and "kids shooting kids" has almost become commonplace in Lewiston.

City officials have responded by approving $200,000 in additional police overtime funding to expand patrols and enforcement. They have also urged changes to Maine's juvenile justice system, including more options for handling repeat violent offenders and greater scrutiny before high-risk juveniles are released.

Mayor Carl Sheline said in a statement last month that the increased resources are "sending a strong message to those perpetrating gun violence: we will find you." But he added, "Parental involvement and accountability are key to reducing youth gun violence in our city."

Rick LaChapelle, a former city council president and Republican mayoral candidate, took aim at the system itself. "Our biggest problem is the system itself. The police department is doing an excellent job catching these people. We have one young man that's been arrested five times, I believe, for the same thing. He gets arrested, gets brought down to the youth center and gets released," he said.

LaChapelle argued that one-party rule has instilled rules under which there is no accountability, and that the rules of the system need to change. The mayor's office, approached for comment on its efforts to combat the gun violence, did not respond by the time the reporting was published.

The causes of the violence are also debated in the city. No official city or police data indicates that Somali residents as a group are behind the violence, or establishes a connection to its increase. Mohamed Adbei, a teenager who spoke on the streets of Lewiston, pushed back on any ethnic connection: "I wouldn't just say it's the Somali kids. It's youth in general."

Ifraax Saciid, a Somali native who lived in Atlanta before moving to Lewiston, agreed. "No, that's not the root cause. I think the root cause is poverty here in Lewiston. Lewiston is very poor and is economically not in a good state," she said, adding that what is happening in Lewiston is happening everywhere — she has seen the same in Atlanta, Miami, Ohio, Kentucky and Minnesota.

The Somali influx to Lewiston began a quarter of a century ago, when refugees and secondary migrants started relocating to the former mill city along the Androscoggin River in search of safe neighborhoods and affordable housing. In 2002, then-Mayor Larry Raymond drew national attention after asking Somali leaders to discourage additional migration, arguing the rapid influx was straining city resources. Lewiston today has one of the highest per capita Muslim populations in the country, most of it Somali along with refugees from other African nations.

Lewiston has also been an epicentre in recent years for fraud scandals involving Maine's joint federal and state Medicaid programme. Saciid emphasised that "fraud is happening everywhere in the United States and with every skin colour, with every class. It's not tied particularly to one people." Residents are now watching whether expanded patrols and proposed justice-system changes can stem the violence.