(La Porte, IN) - A La Porte woman used to work with one of the people killed in the mass shootings in Maine and lived in the same city where it occurred.

 

Nikki Haines said she also knows cousins and other distant relatives of the suspected gunman and played darts with her stepfather at Schemengees Bar and Grille where most of the people were shot.

 

After hearing about the Wednesday night shootings, Haines said “I was like, what the heck.”  Immediately, she tried contacting her mother, Brenda, and other immediate family members still living in the area to make sure they were safe.  She was not able to reach them right away, though.

 

“I was freaking out,” she said.

 

Haines said her mother later texted her that she was under lockdown as a precaution since the shooter was still at-large.

 

Eventually, she learned every family member was safe but didn’t know about her father, Kirk, until Friday morning when he called her cellphone.

 

“I didn’t sleep.  I had a hard time focusing.  I was constantly watching Maine news.  It was very heart wrenching,” she said.

 

For about two-years, Haines said she resided in Lewiston, where at least 18 people were killed and 13 others wounded in the shooting rampage at the bar and a bowling alley on the other side of the side of the city of more than 36,000 residents.

 

Haines also grew up in the nearby communities of Lisbon and Bowdoin, which have been major focuses of the ongoing search for the suspected gunman, Robert Card, 40, who resides in Bowdoin.  The search was still ongoing Friday.

 

Haines, 36, said she lived in that area her whole life until moving to La Porte close to three years ago.  She doesn’t recall knowing the gunman but went to school with some of his cousins and other more distant relatives.  They also used to babysit her and come to her family's home, regularly, to visit.

 

Haines said one of the shooting victims, Tricia Asselin, was a co-worker of hers at the local Walmart.  They were not friends but, occasionally, they spent time together at the store.

 

“We kind of hung out with each other on breaks,” she said.

 

Haines said she worked for about a year stocking shelves at the Walmart about a decade ago. 

 

Asselin was killed at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, which was the second location the gunman struck.  At times, Haines said she bowled there in her spare time and saw Asselin at the alley just in passing.

 

Haines said her nerves were still a bit on edge from worrying about her family members since the gunman was still on the run.  Her mother resides in Lisbon, a short distance from where a car belonging to the gunman was found abandoned at a boat launch area, triggering a massive search.  Haines said her father resides in nearby Brunswick, but he often travels to Lewiston to frequent places like Walmart and a hardware store or just hang out.

 

Haines said her stepfather, George, plays in dart tournaments at the bar where the gunman started the mass shootings.  She also used to play darts with her stepfather at the same establishment.

 

Haines said she came to La Porte to start a personal relationship, which didn’t work out.  She decided to stay after accepting an offer for a part-time job at the Jane Bernard Animal Adoption Center near the La Porte County Fairgrounds and later being promoted to a full-time animal control officer.

 

Haines said she may have gone to school with Card but is not sure since they’re four years apart and it’s been a long time ago.

 

“It’s been so long I probably wouldn’t even recognize him,” she said.