Maine man accused of threatening ‘Lewiston part two’ in social media photo

A Maine man is accused of posing outside a Walmart with a rifle and ammunition in a social media post that threatened “Lewiston part two,” authorities said Tuesday.

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Michael Bowden, 18, of Etna, was arrested Sunday and charged with aggravated reckless conduct and domestic violence terrorizing, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported.

The alleged threat came nearly a week after a U.S. Army reservist opened fire at a bowling alley and a restaurant-bar in Lewiston, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.

According to Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Mike Mitchell, Bowden allegedly posed in a Snapchat photo taken Sunday with a .308-caliber Savage bolt-action rifle and ammunition in his lap, the Sun Journal reported.

Bowden was allegedly sitting in the parking lot of a Walmart in nearby Palmyra, where he had been an employee until he was fired in 2021, according to the Bangor Daily News.

“He took a picture of himself in a vehicle in the Walmart parking lot, and in that picture you can see a gun -- a hunting rifle,” Mitchell said, according to the Sun Journal. “You can also see a bullet in his lap.

“They were communicating back and forth through Snapchat messaging, and (the employee) basically said, ‘What is this?’”

Bowden had reportedly been seen “on a nightly basis” in the parking lot of the Walmart, including Saturday night, the Daily News reported.

A spokesperson for the Walmart store in Palmyra declined a request for comment, the Sun Journal reported.

Mitchell said an investigation is ongoing.

“We take this stuff very serious,” Mitchell told the newspaper. “You have to nowadays”.

Authorities arrested Bowden at his residence without incident, according to WABI-TV. The rifle pictured in the social media posts was recovered from his home and is being held as evidence, the Daily News reported.

Bowden posted $10,000 bail on Tuesday, the Sun Journal reported. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 3, 2024, according to the newspaper.

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Lewiston vigil: Mourners comfort one another at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul during Sunday's vigil. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)