A ‘man’s man.’ ‘Young and vibrant.’ ‘The biggest heart.’: Family and friends mourn 18 killed in Maine shootings

A gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, killing 18 people in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.

In a statement Friday, Gov. Janet Mills called the victims “our family, friends, colleagues and neighbors,” and said she knew some of the victims personally. One — Joshua Seal, whom Mills called a friend — had provided American Sign Language interpretation during the governor’s COVID-19 briefings.

“It is often said that our state is ‘one big, small town’ because Maine is such a close-knit community,” Mills said. “Tonight, I ask Maine people to join me in reading their stories, learning who they were, celebrating them as beloved people and mourning them as irreplaceable.”

Here’s what we know so far about the victims:

Tricia Asselin, 53

Tricia Asselin’s mother, Alicia Lachance, told Rolling Stone that Asselin was standing with her sister Bobbi when the shooting started at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley. Asselin ran to get her phone to call 911 to “save the kids,” Lachance told the magazine.

Asselin worked at Modula USA, which specializes in automated storage systems, according to a Facebook post from the company. She also worked part time at