Gov. Paul LePage backtracked on comments he made Monday at a public event that a Mainer might have been killed in the terrorist attacks in Paris, saying hours later that he didn’t have official confirmation that a state resident was among the dead.

The governor apologized through his official Twitter account.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding,” the governor tweeted. “We do not have any official confirmation anyone from Maine was killed in the attacks.”

Adrienne Bennett, a LePage spokeswoman, said the governor’s office originally said the governor’s office was working to confirm whether a Mainer had died in the attacks on Friday night.

“We will send official notice as soon as we have details. We do not have official confirmation, I would like to stress this,” she said.

She declined to answer questions about how close an association the governor had with the possible victim or when he was notified.

LePage first made the statement at a public appearance for the Salvation Army in Augusta Monday, but offered no other details, saying he heard the information “through the grapevine,” according to WCSH-TV.

The U.S. State Department has confirmed the identity of only one American killed so far: Nohemi Gonzales, 23, a California college student studying abroad in Paris. So far, 129 people have died following the coordinated attacks Friday at several restaurants, a packed concert venue, and the national soccer stadium in Paris. Hundreds more were wounded and many remain hospitalized.

French President Francois Hollande said Monday that the victims comprise 19 nationalities, the Associated Press reported. No Mainers were among the list of dead confirmed by the media so far.


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