Maine highway shooting - live: Suspect Joseph Eaton’s parents named among victims of Bowdoin rampage

Maine shooting spree suspect Joseph Eaton allegedly confessed to killing his parents and another couple at a home before opening fire on an interstate.

Police offered an update on the deadly rampage at a press conference on Wednesday.

Officials said 34-year-old Mr Eaton admitted to shooting four people who were found dead at a home in Bowdoin on Tuesday morning - including his parents Cynthia, 62, and David, 66. The other two victims, Patricia and Robert Eger, owned and lived at the home.

Mr Eaton then allegedly drove to Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, where he began shooting at cars. Three people were injured by that gunfire: Sean Halsey and his children, Justin Halsey and Paige Halsey.

Authorities did not offer any details about a motive but said the killings at the home were targeted and the highway shooting was random.

Hours before the highway rampage, Mr Eaton posted a sobbing Facebook video speaking about his “trauma” and “being molested”, The Independent can reveal.

Records also showed Mr Eaton had more than half a dozen criminal convictions – and was released from jail just four days before the killings.

Key points

  • Suspect killed parents and their friends before going on highway shooting rampage

  • Maine shooting spree: What we know about the deadly attacks on a home and highway

  • Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton shot his parents and two others before opening fire on random highway

  • Maine State Police hold press conference

  • List of deadliest shootings within last year

Suspect killed parents and their friends before going on highway shooting rampage

22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Among the four victims shot dead in Maine were the suspect’s parents.

Joseph Eaton, 34, has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his father David Eaton, 66; his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62; and their friends Robert Eger, 72; and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect was released from prison just four days before he went on a rampage, shooting and killing those at the home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

The suspect left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

The shooting took place at the home of the Egers. Three of the bodies were found inside the home, while Mr Eaton’s father was found at the property in a “non-attached garage,” according to the authorities.

Maine shooting spree: What we know about the deadly attacks on a home and highway

21:30 , Rachel Sharp

Seven people were shot – four of them fatally – when a gunman embarked on a shooting spree across two different locations in Maine on Tuesday.

The horror incident first began at a home in Bowdoin where four victims were found dead before police were called to reports of a random shooting at cars on a nearby highway in Yarmouth.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, a 34-year-old convicted felon who was released from prison just days earlier, was arrested and charged with murder.

Now, the victims, their families and the communities of Bowdoin and Yarmouth are the latest to join a growing list impacted by gun violence in America.

Here’s what we know so far:

What we know about the Maine shooting spree on a home and highway

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton was released from prison four days before rampage

21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The suspect in the Maine shootings was released from prison just four days before he allegedly went on a rampage, shooting and killing four people at a home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday. He was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black. He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Following his 14 April release, Mr Eaton was arrested on Tuesday after four bodies were found in a home on Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The killings have been connected to the highway shooting in which three people were injured later on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

Read more:

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton was released from prison four days before rampage

Woman who commented on suspect’s social media posts lived where bodies found

20:30 , Rachel Sharp

Maine State Police said that officers were called to a house in Bowdoin on Tuesday to find four victims dead from gunshot wounds.

Not long after the grim discovery was made, an assailant opened fire on cars driving along Interstate 295 in nearby Yarmouth.

Three drivers were shot in the attack – with one of them now in critical condition.

The two incidents are believed to be connected and Mr Eaton was taken into custody by police.

He was charged with four counts of murder over the victims in the home and is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail.

He will make an initial court appearance later in the week, police said.

None of the victims have been publicly identified and no motive has been given.

Property records seen by The Independent show that a woman who had commented on Mr Eaton’s Facebook posts in the past lived at the address where the four victims were found.

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton shot his parents and two others before opening fire on random highway

20:24 , Gustaf Kilander

Among the four victims shot dead in Maine were the suspect’s parents.

Joseph Eaton, 34, has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his parents his father David Eaton, 66, his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62, and their friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect was released from prison just four days before he went on a rampage, shooting and killing the four people at a home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

Read more:

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton shot his parents and two others

Maine State Police hold press conference

20:06 , Gustaf Kilander

Previous convictions prevented suspect from legally owning guns

20:00 , AP

Suspect Joseph Eaton was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes and served an eight-month sentence last year for assault, according to state records. Past convictions included aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm.

The origins and ownership of the firearms used in Tuesday’s shootings were unclear.

‘They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time'

19:30 , AP

Ian Halsey, of Bowdoinham, said that two cousins were shot and that his uncle suffered shrapnel injuries in a single car. One of his cousins is in critical condition, and none of the family knew the shooter, he said.

“They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said of his family. “It’s horrible what happened.”

List of deadliest shootings within last year

19:00 , Abe Asher

Dadeville, Alabama

The shooting unfolded at a “Sweet 16” birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, leaving four people dead and a further 28 injured.

According to local police, the shooting began at around 10.34pm on Saturday (15 April) during a celebration held at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville, a small town of around 3,000 residents lying 45 miles northeast of Montgomery.

As of 18 April, no arrests have been made and authorities declined to speculate on the suspect or their possible motive.

The victims have been identified as Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, Mersiah Collins, 19, Corbin Holston, 23, and KeKe Nicole Smith, 17.

Louisville, Kentucky

A 25-year-old employee opened fire at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on 10 April, killing five people and injuring eight others while live streaming the attack.

The shooter, identified as bank employee Connor Sturgeon, entered the Old National Bank in the downtown area of the city at around 8.30am armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

He shot and killed four bank executives inside the first-floor conference room before exchanging gunfire with responding police officers. Louisville deputy police chief Paul Humphrey said that he was shot dead by officer fire.

A fifth victim later succumbed to her injuries in hospital. All five were executives at the bank.

The victims have now been identified as Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliott, Juliana Farmer, James Tutt, and Deana Eckert.

Nashville, Tenessee

Three nine-year-old students and three staff members died after a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, on 27 March 2023.

The suspect, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was also killed by police at The Covenant School in the Green Hills suburb of the city.

An illustrator and graphic designer who attended Nossi College of Art, Hale had no criminal record prior to the massacre and was not known to law enforcement.

Hale was a former student at Covenant. Over the course of their investigation, officers have discovered manifesto-like writings and apparent research into the facilities and entry points at Covenant.

Students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61, all died in the attack.

Koonce was The Covenant School’s headteacher. She ran towards the shooter before she was killed in a hallway.

Half Moon Bay, California

The mass shooting unfolded on 23 January, with seven victims killed across two agricultural business locations – a mushroom farm and a trucking facility.

The gunman, Chunli Zhao, shot dead four people at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, and killed another three victims at Concord Farms located around two miles away, according to authorities. He was a former employee at both farms.

The horror attack is believed to have been witnessed by many children, as many farm workers live on-site with their families.

Monterey Park, California

Huu Can Tran, 72, a one-time fixture at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, killed 11 people and wounded nine with a submachine gun-style semiautomatic handgun, on 21 January. He stormed inside the dance studio during the Lunar New Year celebrations and killed himself as police surrounded his van the next morning.

The victims were older Asian Americans, mostly in their 60s and 70s.

Chesapeake, Virginia

Andre Bing, a manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake, killed six and wounded six others during an employee meeting on 22 November 2022. He then shot himself.

Chesapeake officials released a chilling “death note” in which Bing complained that people “laughed at me and said I was like Jeffrey Dahmer”.

The long, rambling note was found on the 31-year-old mass shooter’s cellphone and released by Chesapeake officials – providing a glimpse into his motive behind the horror attack.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Five people were killed and 17 wounded when a 22-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. The suspect, who was subdued by patrons, is awaiting trial.

Authorities said that Anderson Lee Aldrich was seen pulling into a parking lot at Club Q just before midnight on 19 November 2022, where they entered and immediately opened fire.

Aldrich was charged with 305 criminal counts, including five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime – or “hate” crime – and several charges of attempted murder and assault in the first-degree and second-degree.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Fifteen-year-old Austin Thompson allegedly killed five people and injured two more in a shooting in Raleigh on 13 October 2022. The suspect eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested.

The fatal victims were identified as Nicole Connors, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, Mary Marshall, 35, Gabriel Torres, 29, James Thompson, 16. Thompson’s brother and a police officer were among the deceased.

Highland Park, Illinois

Six people were killed and at least 30 wounded when suspect Robert Crimo opened fire on an Independence Day parade on 4 July in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.

According to police, Crimo had planned an attack for weeks and fired more than 80 rounds randomly into the crowd watching the parade.

Prosecutors also say Crimo made a “voluntary statement confessing to his actions” and revealed that the young man had made his way to Madison, Wisconsin, where he intended to commit another mass shooting but turned back.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Three people died and 14 people were injured in a shooting on 5 June in front of a restaurant. Three people have been arrested.

Some 16 of the victims were adults and one was a minor. In total, fourteen people were shot, while three were hit by vehicles.

Philadelphia

Three people died and 11 others were injured on 4 June on a Philadelphia busy block during a melee that began with a fistfight and was followed by random gunfire. Two men, 34-year-old Rashann Vereen and 18-year-old Quran Garner, are in custody for two of the deaths; other people have also been arrested in connection with the melee.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Gunman Michael Louis killed his surgeon and three other people at a medical office on 1 June 2022. The gunman killed himself as police arrived.

Uvalde, Texas

An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on 24 May in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. More than 15 other people were wounded.

The violence began before Salvador Ramos even arrived at the grade school. According to police and family members, he shot his grandmother in the head and stole the family truck, before heading to Robb Elementary School.

Buffalo, New York

White gunman Peyton Grendon opened fire on 14 May 2022 at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighbourhood, killing 10 people and injuring others.

The attack, which Gendron had planned for months, was carried out with an AR-15 rifle and streamed live. He was arrested immediately after the massacre.

Gendron drove around 200 miles from his home to the predominantly Black community to carry out the attack.

In November 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to all state charges against him, convictions that guarantee a life prison sentence. He was officially sentenced in February.

He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, and one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, among other charges.

Records: Maine shooting suspect couldn’t legally own guns

18:30 , AP

A Maine man who police say killed four people in a home and then shot three others randomly on a busy highway had a criminal history that should have prevented him from legally possessing a gun, according to state records.

The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.

“This is an active investigation with a lot of moving parts,” Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday.

The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, she said. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf, a jail official said Wednesday.

The names of the victims were not released, and state police didn’t discuss any possible motive. The four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.

Maine State Police to hold press conference at 3pm

18:28 , Gustaf Kilander

Maine State Police is set to hold a press conference at 3pm on Wednesday in August to share updates about Tuesday’s shootings that left four dead and three injured.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday. He was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black.

He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

Following his Friday 14 April release, Mr Eaton was arrested on Tuesday after four bodies were found in a home on Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The killings have been connected to a highway shooting in which three people were injured later on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

While Mr Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder, he hasn’t yet been charged in connection to the highway shooting. One of those shot on the highway remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

More than 11,000 dead from gun violence this year

18:00 , Abe Asher

According to the Gun Violence Archive, shootings have already claimed more than 11,000 lives in total in the US in 2023, with more than 6,000 people using a gun to die by suicide. Another 9,000 people have been injured in a shooting so far this year.

The Gun Violence Archive’s definition holds that mass shootings include at least four people either injured or killed, not including the shooter.

Despite the prevalance of gun violence this year and in recent years in the US, there has not been a renewed push to tighten the country’s liberal gun laws in Congress since a bipartisan group of legislators introduced and passed a modest array of reforms after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last year.

On a state level, a number of states have moved over the last year to remove barriers to purchasing and carrying firearms. Last year, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah all passed laws to no longer require people to hold a permit to carry a firearm, while legislators in states like Georgia and Ohio have moved to pass similar laws this year.

A select number of other states have gone in the other direction: voters in Oregon, for example, narrowly approved a ballot measure last year to require permits to purchase a firearm and ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Suspect said ‘I just wish somebody would forgive me’ in video shared before shooting

17:30 , Rachel Sharp

In a video shared on social media by Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, he is seen sitting in a car filming himself as he chokes up with tears and goes on a confusing ramble.

“I’m probably going to get emotional just talking about it,” he said.

“But a lot of people look at you and think ‘oh well there’s just another f*** up, another guy that can’t get his stuff together, treats people like s***’ and then they turn around and claim to be Christian.

“And you can’t forgive somebody or understand what they go through. You can’t give someone a second chance but you say you’re Christian. How does that make sense? Why can’t you just try to get to know the person again? What good’s it do to hate somebody? It destroys you.

“It’s not the way things were supposed to be done, the way things were made.”

Mr Eaton then went on to say he wants forgiveness for “the things I did” as he said he has had “trauma for a long time”.

“Just need to try to forgive me for the things I did. I’ve been dealing with trauma for a long time on things I don’t talk to people about – being molested and stuff it destroys somebody,” he said.

“I know I’m good for my kids. I just wish somebody would forgive me. Some people, I don’t get it.”

Hours after posting the video, Mr Eaton allegedly went on a shooting rampage across two locations in Maine on Tuesday.

PHOTOS: Police shuts down highway after shooting

17:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Members of law enforcement investigate a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295, in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
Members of law enforcement investigate a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295, in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
Vehicles are stopped on a highway at a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
Vehicles are stopped on a highway at a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
Members of law enforcement approach vehicles at a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
Members of law enforcement approach vehicles at a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
In a still frame from video provided by WGME-TV traffic is backed up near a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295, in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)
In a still frame from video provided by WGME-TV traffic is backed up near a scene where people were injured in a shooting on Interstate 295, in Yarmouth, Maine, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (AP)

Seven people shot in Maine latest victims in series of US mass shootings

16:30 , AP

The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance.

The names of the victims were not released, and state police didn’t discuss any possible motive. The four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.

The seven people shot Tuesday were the latest victims of mass shootings in the U.S., whose targets included a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Sweet Sixteen party in a small city in Alabama.

How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?

16:00 , Abe Asher

Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.

Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.

This year is on track to be no different. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US — with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.

As in a number of other years, including 2022, some of the most visible gun violence in the US this year has taken place at schools. In February, a shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan left three students dead and five other people injured. In late March, a mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville claimed six lives.

Other gunmen may have been targeting certain ethnic communities: in January in Half Moon Bay, California, a shooting at a dancehall in a predominantly Asian-American area left 11 people dead. Two days later, another mass shooting in nearby Monterey Bay, California killed seven more people.

Read more:

How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?

Four dead and several injured after related shootings on Maine interstate and at nearby home

15:30 , Graig Graziosi

Law enforcement authorities in Maine have charged a man with murder in connection to the killings of four people who were found inside a house in Bowdoin on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, police responded to reports that several vehicles on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, had been hit by gunfire. They then confirmed that the incident on the highway was linked to four bodies that were discovered in Bowdoin. The man charged with the murder has been identified by police as 34-year-old Joseph Eaton of Bowdoin.

A large police presence, including officers armed with rifles, responded to the highway following the shooting. A total of three people were injured in the highway shooting, according to the Associated Press, with one of them in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

Read more:

Four dead and several hurt in shooting spree on Maine interstate and at nearby home

Police: Maine man fired randomly on highway after killing 4

15:00 , AP

A Maine man killed four people in a home and then shot three others randomly on a busy highway, state police said, the latest in a string of mass shootings across the country that have shaken communities large and small.

The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.

“This is an active investigation with a lot of moving parts,” Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday.

PHOTOS: Law enforcement responds to Bowdoin crime scene

14:30 , Gustaf Kilander

A body is wheeled to a hearse at the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)
A body is wheeled to a hearse at the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)
A hearse leaves the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)
A hearse leaves the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)
A woman reacts at the scene of a multiple shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)
A woman reacts at the scene of a multiple shooting, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)

Man whose relatives were shot said there was “no connection between the victims"

14:00 , Abe Asher

Ian Halsey of Bowdoinham told the Portland Press Herald that two of the people shot in Yarmouth were his cousins.

“My cousin is in critical condition and my other cousin is stable,” Mr Halsey told the newspaper. “There is no connection between the victims. It was random that my family was shot at.”

Maine shooting suspect posted sobbing Facebook video about ‘trauma’ hours before rampage

13:31 , Rachel Sharp

The man accused of going on a shooting rampage at a home and along an interstate in Maine appears to have posted a sobbing Facebook video speaking about his “trauma” and “being molested” just hours before the attack, The Independent can reveal.

Joseph Eaton, 34, shared an emotional video of himself online on Monday where he said that people think he is “just another f*** up” and complained about people who “claim to be Christian”.

In the footage, he is seen sitting in a car filming himself as he chokes up with tears and goes on a confusing ramble.

“I’m probably going to get emotional just talking about it,” he said.

“But a lot of people look at you and think ‘oh well there’s just another f*** up, another guy that can’t get his stuff together, treats people like s***’ and then they turn around and claim to be Christian.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Maine shooting suspect posted sobbing Facebook video about ‘trauma’ before rampage

Suspect to appear in court in coming days

12:30 , Abe Asher

The AP reports that Joseph Eaton, the man charged with murder in connection to the deaths in Bowdoin, is expected to appear in court later this week.

More gun violence on Tuesday

11:00 , Abe Asher

The shooting in Maine was not the only instance of gun violence in the US yesterday.

Someone was also wounded in a shooting at a Home Depot in Pleasonton, California on Tuesday.

Mass shootings continue

09:30 , Abe Asher

The US continues to be beset by gun violence. Last Saturday saw the most mass shootings of any single day so far this year, with seven shootings in six states including a shooting at a birthday party in Alabama that left four people dead and 28 people injured.

The country has already experienced more than 160 mass shootings this year according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

What we know so far

08:00 , Abe Asher

Here’s a rundown of what we know so far about the shootings that left four people dead and three more injured, one critically, in an area of Maine north of the city of Portland.

One man, 34-year-old Joseph Eaton, has been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the four people found dead inside a home in Bowdoin on Tuesday morning. Police have said that those killings are connected to the shooting on I-295 later in the morning that left three people injured.

Where is Bowdoin?

06:30 , Abe Asher

Bowdoin, Maine, the town where law enforcement officials discovered four dead bodies in a house on Tuesday morning, is a town of just more than 3,000 people located in Sagadahoc County north of Portland along I-295.

It is not is not the location of Bowdoin College, the elite liberal arts school where the yearly tuition is nearly $60,000. The college is located in nearby Brunswick.

Interstate open again

05:00 , Abe Asher

Authorities in Maine re-opened the entirety of I-295 late on Tuesday following a shooting on the road on Tuesday morning. Exit 15 remains closed, but the interstate is functioning normally again otherwise.

Law enforcement officials have said that the shooting on the interstate is connected to the discovery of four dead bodies in a home in Bowdoin earlier in the day on Tuesday.

Governor says she ‘shocked’ by shooting

04:00 , Abe Asher

Gov Janet Mills of Maine, a second-term Democrat, said she was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the shootings in Bowdoin and on I-295 in Yarmouth on Tuesday.

“Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened – acts of violence like we experienced to shake our state and our communities to the core,” Ms Mills wrote on Twitter.

Ms Mills said she is praying for the speedy recovery of people hospitalised due to the shooting.

“There is still much to learn, but I’m grateful to the quick response of State, county, and local law enforcement to protect Maine people,” she wrote.

Bowdoin man charged with murder

01:18 , Abe Asher

Authorities have charged Joseph Eaton with four counts of murder in relation to the bodies found inside a Bowdoin home on Tuesday morning, WMTM has reported.

Mr Eaton, 34, is in custody. It is not yet clear whether he is also being charged in connection to the shootings on Interstate 295 in nearby Yarbrough, which left three people injured including one who is in critical condition.

Police have not yet released a motive for the killings in Bowdoin, which Gov Janet Mills said left her “shocked and deeply saddened.”

Road closed in Yarmouth as shooting investigation continues

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:53 , Abe Asher

The Main Department of Transportation has closed the southbound portion of Interstate 295 at the behest of state police following a shooting on the road this morning. Authorities have not yet said when they expect to re-open the southbound portion of the road.

Police have asked Yarmouth residents to shelter in place as the investigation into the shooting continues.

Four dead, several injured after shootings in Maine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:10 , Abe Asher

Authorities in Maine believe shootings that left four people dead inside a Bowdoin home and multiple people injured on an interstate freeway in Yarmouth are connected.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Four dead and several injured after related shootings on Maine interstate and home

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