"Kind presence at all times"; Children's bowling instructor, Bob Violette, killed in Lewiston shooting
LEWISTON, ME - Those who knew 76-year-old Bob Violette said he was gunned down doing what he loved: bowling.
Violette was teaching a youth bowling league inside Sparetime Recreation, his friend said, when gunfire erupted.
"Bob's helped with the youth league for as long as I can remember," Brandon Dubuc told WBZ-TV. "There wasn't a kid he wouldn't help."
Dubuc grew up bowling at Sparetime and has known Violette since he was a kid. He even worked at the bowling alley.
His heart sank when surveillance photos emerged of the gunman, Robert Card. Dubuc instantly recognized the location.
"He looks like he was aiming at the front counter. It would've been right in front of him," Dubuc said of Sparetime. "Off to the shooter's right is where all the lanes are."
His cousin was inside bowling when gunshots rang out.
"He's okay. He just told me the gunfire started and he got out as fast as he could," Dubuc explained. "He told me that he was pretty sure he [Bob] didn't make it."
Violette is among the first shooting victims identified by family members – rocking the tight-knit Maine city and the bowling community.
"Everyone in that community is going to know somebody that's affected by this, so it's kind of it's just trying to piece it together right now," Dubuc said.
Like a true teacher, Violette's loved ones have no doubt he risked his life to protect his students.
"If he was there with those kids, he was protecting those kids," said Dubuc. "I have no doubt about that."
Violette's relative said he was days away from celebrating his 77th birthday.