In response to a series of shooting incidents in recent weeks, the Lewiston Police Department, alongside city officials and the Androscoggin County district attorney, will be holding a press conference Thursday to announce their plan to increase public safety.

The press conference is slated to be held at the Lewiston City Hall Council Chambers at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

City officials, Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre, Androscoggin County District Attorney Neil McLean, and “community partners and stakeholders” will be at the press conference to “discuss the recent uptick in violence in the community and to announce plans for immediate action and future community engagement to reduce incidences of violence within the community.”

The plan, according to the city’s announcement of the press conference, will include increased law enforcement presence, enhanced coordination between Lewiston Police and state and federal law enforcement, “innovative approaches to community engagement,” and a call to action to the state legislature and judicial system.

Several shootings have occurred in Lewiston in recent weeks, most recently at a refugee group’s back-to-school event with over 300 hundred attendees at McGraw Park last Friday.

Last week, a juvenile male was injured in a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Pine and Jefferson Street in Lewiston, and last month a 17-year-old male was killed in a shooting at a public housing complex — one of three shootings that same weekend.

Following the shooting at the back-to-school event, Lewiston Police Chief St. Pierre and Superintendent Jake Langlais released a joint statement on Wednesday to address the community’s concerns over gun violence.

“We all want to rest easy knowing that the people we love and care about are safe,” the joint statement read. “Lewiston can be a safe place for everyone if we work together to stop gun violence in our community.”

“We are looking forward to welcoming students, teachers, and staff back to school tomorrow, and partnering with the entire community to create a safer Lewiston for all of us,” St. Pierre and Langlais stated.

The police chief and superintendent announced that they will be placing extra police patrols at all Lewiston schools.

“We always remind everyone: ‘If you see something – say something – so we can do something.’ It takes us all!” they stated.