4 Officers Training Nearby Responded First to Maine Bowling Alley Shooting

Plainclothes police officers who were training nearby when a gunman opened fire inside a Maine bowling alley on Wednesday night were the first to respond to the calls for help.

On Friday evening, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told Fox News that four plainclothes officers were the first to respond to the shooting rampage at Sparetime Recreation bowling in Lewiston, Maine "about a minute-and-a-half" after hearing calls for help.

Sauschuck said that plainclothes officers responded to the bowling alley before on-duty officers arrived at the location, following the first desperate 911 call at 6:56 p.m. Wednesday. On duty officers arrived in about 4 minutes.

"The reality there, however, is that there were four plainclothes police officers that were shooting on the range in that general area, they hear that call come in, and they're walking into the bowling alley in about a minute and a half," Sauschuck said.

Sauschuck said that when they arrived they "addressed the threat and cleared the building."