the mayor of auburn, maine, jason levesque. the town separated from lewiston by a river. our hearts go out to your community. what information have you been given by law enforcement given the lockdowns and the search that's underway? >> information is kind of fluid. it's a fluid situation, if you would. right now there is nothing new to report. we will be having a press conference with the city of lewiston in a few hours, hopefully, more information will be released to the public at that point, right now i encourage everyone, shelter in place. schools are closed. businesses are closed. stay home with your loved ones and pray for the victims of last night's terrible tragedy. >> of course we certainly are, mayor. you are a five-generation residents of auburn and your town is a place where a lot of people are hoping in these reauto unification centers they will be reunited with their loved ones. you said last night, the silence there was really telling. can you explain that to us? >> yeah. i think it's the silence of just not knowing, right. that's what they don't say. and i

mayor jason levesque, thank you for taking the time. i appreciate your time. our hearts go out to you and your whole community there. >> thank you very much. >>> now i want to bring in mary ellen o'toole, a retired fbi agent and criminal profiler and we're joined by jim cavanaugh as well, retired atf special agent in charge and former atf hostage negotiator. he's also an msnbc contributor. mary ellen, just everything that we know at this point about the suspect, robert card, what sticks out to you and how do you think officials are starting to build a profile? >> what sticks out to me from a behavioral perspective is that he's gone quiet, he's gone dormant and that's not typical of most mass shootings. they go in and take advantage of the victims being off guard, so that they can achieve maximum lethality, which is what he did in -- at both locations. and then he just goes very quiet and there is certainly a possibility that he can come out of the quiet and become kind of -- pounce and become confrontational with law enforcement. that would be very unusual, th

. >> mayor jason levesque, thank you. our hearts are with you spaesk this morning. >> thank you. >> "cnn this morning" continues now. >> mass casualty, mass shooter event. >> police are searching for a car. >> he dropped his vehicle. he is out of lewiston. >> he is former military. he is a certified firearms and tactics instructor. >> this is so often the weapon of choice for many of the nation's deadliest mass shootings. >> the two hospitals called in every off-duty staff member that they could. >> i split in where the pins are and on top of the -- >> unbelievable somebody would start shooting at families. >> those kids probably trying to have a family night. >> we had a really strong community. we have overcome a lot. we will overcome this. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> good morning. we are continuing to follow the breaking news. i'm phil mattingly with poppy harlow in new york. right now urgent manhunt underway in maine after mass shootings at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in lewiston. at least 16

. >> i want to welcome jason lÉvesque, the mayor of auburn me.i understand that you've been at the middle school, where survivors have been be united. i'm sorry for what your community is going through now. what are you hearing from people tonight? >> thank you for having me on. as you can imagine, it's a very confusing situation. we do have great law enforcement, first responders, action plans that we have implemented. it's about as organized as one could ever hope i suppose, right now our thoughts, really our feelings and prayers, or with those who have suffered through this. we are all going to know someone who is a victim of tonight. >> we are just looking at pictures outside a medical center, can you explain the trauma response to this given the vast number of people that were shot them? >> i don't think i can. other than we have trained professionals here, grief counselors, we have specialist from the police, local law enforcements as well as counselors and members of local clergy early. we have each other i think that's a big thing to we r

. >> lynda kinkade spoke with jason levesque the mayor and he discussed how the community is dealing with the horrifying events. >> this is about as organized as one could ever hope i suppose. and right now our thoughts and feelings and prayers for those who have suffered through this. we'll all know someone who is a victim of tonight. >> and we're looking at pictures outside a medical center. can you explain the trauma response to this given just the vast number of people that were shot? >> no, i don't think i can other than we have trained professionals here. grief counselors, trauma specialists from the maine state police, local law enforcement as well as counselors and members of local clergy. and we also have each other. i think that is a big thing too. you know, maine really turns inward, if you would, and really we support our own during difficult times. that is what we do and we'll keep doing it and we'll get through this. >> mayor, this mass shooting happened at a bowling sally and a restaurant around dinnertime. what do you know about how this unfolded, what have witnesses

. >> joining me now, the mayor of auburn, maine, jason levesque. remember, auburn middle school is the location of the reunification center identified by that commissioner of public safety at that press conference just a little while ago. mayor, thank you for joining us tonight. this is an unbelievable tragedy that is unfolding. what can't you tell us about that reunification center, tonight? what are you hearing from members of your community? >> well, thank you for this well wishes and having me on. we are hearing a lot obviously, it is a very trying, emotional time for all of us. people have known for years, coming in, but thankfully this is a reunification, so a lot of pauses, a lot of happiness coming out of this for what it is worth. so, there are a lot of horror stories, but more telling is what you don't hear, and that is the silence coming from people that were there witnessing everything. >> the idea of there being some joy in the reunification that you have, of course, the bitter sweetness of those waiting to hear about what happened to

. >> mayor jason levesque, thank you. the mayor makes a really important point that we do not know if the suspect is in this property, and anybody in this community watching this or following this should be aware that it's not clear the suspect has been isolated in this property. he may be elsewhere. and obviously, there are shelter in place orders. those should be heeded. brian todd, what's the situation now? >> well, anderson, i can tell you that a large law enforcement vehicle has repositioned. and we have to be careful not to give away too much tactical information here for safety reasons. a large law enforcement vehicle has repositioned. the spotlight, and you can now see it, is kind of shifting around in the front of the house. again, they're making some adjustments here. there is a spotlight. there you go. you can see it going right -- there is another kind of -- there is a brighter spotlight than we've seen that now has kind of gone back and forth to that front window. and it's on the window now. sometimes they wi

here is mayor jason lÉvesque. >> i'm just lÉvesque, the mayor of auburn right now.all, thank you, it's been a trying time in our community, granted this happened in lewiston. we are one community and have a lot of friends and family that were around this. and i just met a couple of them that i didn't know were involved , where the reunification center right now, glad to see a lot of people coming and picking up their loved ones that were witnesses and actually at this event. and talking with them and my heart and prayers and i think all of ours in this whole area, the whole state, frankly, are going out to them. . >> what are you hearing for the people in there? >> it's what i wasn't hearing. at this point, a significant amount of shock going on with people who are actually witness. obviously, when i was bringing people in that we're looking for their loved ones, there is fear, panic, of course, there's worry, understandable. but the people that were actually there tonight it's what i didn't hear, they just -- it's shocking and it's hard for me to explain. and i jus

. >> let's bring in auburn mayor jason lÉvesque. he is on the phone with us.mayor, thank you for being here. i am so very sorry for what you are community is facing tonight. i am sure you are watching that press conference. is there anything that was not covered that you can update us on? i know the reunification center will be in a middle school in your town. mayor? i think we may have lost him. we will check back in a second. tom, why are they only calling him a person of interest? why aren'thecalling him a shooter? >> right now, from a law enforcement perspective, it's the easiest thing to do. you put a look out for somebody. look, we think, look, based on this person's image, what is found on camera, and based on what may be local law enforcement knows about him and his background and what people in the community said, that's enough for us to call him at least a person of interest that we can push that name out and we can talk to law enforcement agencies and -- >> let's go to the mayor. we do have him now. mayor, are you there? mayor, can you hear me? mayo

. >> all right, mayor jason levesque, we are with you and appreciate your time this morning, and of course we will bring you the very latest from that scene throughout the morning. >>> also breaking overnight, a significant development in the israel-hamas war israeli soldiers carrying out targeted raids inside gaza to prepare for what its military is calling, quote, the next stages of combat. nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in israel for us hey, richard, good morning >> reporter: good morning, hoda. israeli troops briefly entered the gaza strip and then left, and it remains unclear if a full-scale invasion is coming or when as israeli air strikes flatten the gaza strip and with pressure mounting on israel to pause its reprisal attacks and allow more aid to reach palestinian civilians, the israeli military overnight carried out its first significant incursion into gaza sending in tanks from the guwahati brigade and special forces the israeli military released footage of the operation in northern gaza describing it as a targeted raid deep into gaza in a statement saying i

, mayor excuse me, jason levesque, last night to reiterate that we are standing by them and that we arewe are ready to provide any help . are ready to provide any help. people in these communities need and to deploy all available state resources, including grief counsellors and other mental health services . we need to help health services. we need to help our communities heal. if you or a person you love needs someone to talk to during this difficult time, please call , call to talk to during this difficult time, please call, call or to talk to during this difficult time, please call , call or text. time, please call, call or text. 988 for free and confidential counselling . 988 look lewiston counselling. 988 look lewiston is a special place , right? is a special place, right? >> okay, so that is a press conference currently taking place in maine where the manhunt continues. 18 people are dead, four critically injured, at least 30 others injured after a shooting at a bar and a bowling alley in maine. the police have named robert card, a 40 year old man as a person of interest in connec