Lewiston Bible study attendees hid in dark church while shooting unfolded
Lewiston resident Verssie Churchill shares a message of faith as the manhunt for mass shooting suspect Robert Card continues.
A Lewiston Bible study group meeting at a church near the scene of Wednesday night's mass shooting sheltered in darkness for over an hour and prayed as the situation unfolded.
Verssie Churchill told "FOX & Friends" Friday that the group's faith helped them through the traumatic time.
"We heard the sirens, actually, and we were wondering what was happening," Churchill said.
"We were notified by technology that the shooting was occurring, so our pastor made sure that the building was secure. We were notified we should shelter in place. We had children downstairs in the building, we brought them upstairs. We all were in the auditorium. We turned the lights out. And so we were there in total darkness for an hour and a half. We spent time praying for the victims and their families and the first responders and for our own families who were not with us at the time."
Robert Card, suspect Wednesday night's mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, is seen inside Just-In-Time Recreation. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office)
First United Pentecostal Church sits up the road from the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, where suspected gunman Robert Card opened fire during a youth league gathering before moving to Schemengees Bar and Grille. Fifteen people were killed at the two locations and three additional victims died after being rushed to the hospital.
"We spent some time praying. Then we spent some time singing some very peaceful songs. It was that attitude and atmosphere of peace there, which we are thankful for. God did that for us, gave us the peace that we needed during a very traumatic time, a very worrisome time, concern for our city, concern for the people that were involved in all of this," Churchill said.
When law enforcement arrived at the church, Churchill said they felt very comforted and were told to go straight home and shelter there.
"We are a close-knit city," Churchill said. "We're going to help each other. We're going to be strong and we will get through this. This gives all of us an excellent opportunity to live out our faith and to love our neighbor as ourselves and to be supportive."
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said Friday that divers will go into the water to search the area in Lisbon, Maine, near where the 40-year-old Army reservist's vehicle ultimately was found.
Sauschuck said the divers will be "checking for potential bodies" and other evidence near a boat launch site on the Androscoggin River as the manhunt continued.
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FOX News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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