COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — While Wednesday night’s mass shootings in Maine took place hundreds of miles away from Ohio in Maine, the horrific events still hit close to home for some in Columbus.

Emma Wadsworth, a senior at the Ohio State University, said her heart is with the Lewiston community.

“Just not being there in general and just seeing the notification pop up on your phone that there was a mass shooting in an area that was 20 minutes from where I grew up was just really scary,” Wadsworth said.

Wadsworth grew up about 20 miles north of Lewiston. She said it’s a close knit area and what happened has taken away peoples’ sense of security.

“I think everyone in general is still pretty much in shock,” she said. “A lot of people believe, people that have lived there their entire lives, people that just moved there, they view Maine a very safe place, it’s almost like it’s removed from the rest of the world.”

Harry Trombitas, a retired FBI special agent, knows the toll crimes like this can take on a community. In his roughly thirty year career, he spent time in places hit by similar tragedies as part of searches and investigations.

“From the perspective of certainly a citizen and an FBI agent that has worked cases somewhat like this it’s just horrific,” Trombitas said. “The loss of life is devastating, your sense of comfort with your area is shattered, so it has a devastating effect on the community and it’ll be a long time.”

Trombitas also shared perspective on the search.

“We’re leaving really no stone unturned on that and the longer that it goes on clearly the larger that circle can go,” Trombitas said. “These kinds of searches can be very very dangerous, he’s already expressed his willingness to hurt people indiscriminately, it appears. And the possibility he would not hesitate to take a law enforcement officer’s life is very real.”