Survivors of Auburn Shooting Recount Terrifying Night at Schemengees Bar & Grille

Police – Accident – Death – Obituary News : Last week, four women narrowly escaped a mass shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, Auburn. Robert Card walked into the bar and began shooting, ultimately killing 18 people that night. Sue Dostie, Joyce Michaud, Jennifer Zanca, and Destiny Johnson were among the survivors who shared their harrowing experiences.

Destiny Johnson vividly recalls the moment when the world turned into chaos. She saw Card enter the bar with a black gun and watched him fire shots at the ceiling. It was only after he aimed towards the bar that she realized the danger they were in. Jennifer Zanca remembered the repetitive sound of the shots, while Sue Dostie agreed that there were six shots in total.

In the weeks following the tragedy, the survivors have repeatedly recounted their stories to the police, their partners, and their friends and family. They have been embraced with hugs, but no one knows what to say or do. They feel like living funerals.

Jennifer Zanca was one of the 13 survivors injured during Card’s rampage. Each of the four women carries a unique piece of what happened that night. Their usual group dynamics were on display as they gathered to share their stories and compare notes. Zanca, the organizer, brought the group together and kept the conversation on track. Joyce Michaud inserted jokes and expletives into the accounts of the terror. Sue Dostie quietly waited for her turn to talk, while Destiny Johnson, the newest and youngest member, arrived late with her 10-year-old daughter Layle.

The women could have been talking about skiing, Christmas decorations, or golf. Instead, they were talking about survival. Michaud expressed her disbelief at not dying, wondering how she managed to survive. They almost didn’t go to Schemengees that night. Usually, they would go to the Firehouse Grill in Auburn or hang around the clubhouse of the Fox Ridge Golf Club. However, Destiny Johnson’s inclusion in the group prompted them to choose Schemengees, as it was closer to the highway for Johnson’s convenience.

The women had no reason to believe that anything other than a casual dinner awaited them that night. They finished their nine holes, had a drink at the clubhouse, and set out for Lewiston. The bar was crowded with cornhole players, and they were the only diners at the other end of the room. They didn’t know that Card had already killed 10 people at a bowling alley minutes earlier and was targeting the bar, believing it was spreading false information about him being a pedophile.

Michaud mistook the sound of bullets for someone banging on the walls. When she turned around, she realized it was gunfire and shouted for everyone to hit the floor. The women managed to escape into a nearby hallway between bursts of gunfire. Johnson remembers army crawling around the wall, while Michaud crouched and walked like a little Minion. Dostie, trapped in her corner seat, dove onto the floor and hid under a chair.

Dostie watched as bodies dropped around her, never seeing the shooter’s face, only a pair of white sneakers stepping over a fallen cornhole player. Michaud split from the group and lay still to play dead, hoping Card would leave her alone. When the lights were turned off, she followed others into a utility closet. Johnson and Zanca kept crawling until they found an exit. Johnson rushed to her truck, fearing the shooter would follow them outside. She dialed 911 as she drove away, not knowing where she was going, only that she had to get far away from the bar.

The survivors are still haunted by the choices and coincidences that led them into Card’s sights. They question why they had to be there that night. The women’s lives have been forever changed, and they continue to grapple with the aftermath of the shooting..