Maine 18-Year-Old Arrested for Social Media Threat Hinting at “Lewiston Part Two”

An 18-year-old in Maine has been arrested after he allegedly threatened “Lewiston Part Two” in a Snapchat post.

Michael Bowden, 18, of Etna, Maine was arrested after he took a picture of himself with a .308-caliber Savage bolt-action rifle with bullets in his lap and sent it to a Walmart employee in Palmyra, Maine.

After sending the photo to the Walmart employee, Bowden, in a text message, threatened to commit “Lewiston part two,” which was a reference to the recent mass shooting in Lewiston which left 18 people dead.

Somerset County Sheriff Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell, in a statement, shared, “He (Bowden) 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,”

Bowden has been charged with “aggravated reckless conduct and domestic violence terrorizing,” but the 18-year-old has since been released on a $10,000 cash bond.

An 18 year old was arrested in Maine after posing with a hunting rifle and ammunition in a Snapchat photo and threatening “Lewiston part two,” officials say. The arrest was made just hours up the road from where the deadly shooting occurred just days ago.https://t.co/pbUXOe9ssE

— Dylan Tusinski (@dylantusinski) October 31, 2023

Per Central Maine:

An 18-year-old man was arrested after posing outside Walmart with a rifle and ammunition in a social media post that threatened “Lewiston part two,” authorities said Tuesday.

Michael Bowden, of Etna, posed in a Snapchat photo taken Sunday with a .308-caliber Savage bolt-action rifle and ammunition in his lap, Somerset County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said.

After sending the photo to an employee of the Walmart store in Palmyra, Bowden threatened in a text to commit “Lewiston part two,” in reference to last week’s mass shootings at two Lewiston businesses that left 18 dead and others wounded.

“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. “You can also see a bullet in his lap.”

Authorities reported before Bowden made the threat, he was seen in the Palmyra Walmart’s parking lot on a nightly basis.

Bowden previously worked at the Palmyra Walmart but was terminated in 2021.