Joseph Eaton, 34, was taken into custody Tuesday night, April 18, by Maine State Police and charged with four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
After the gunshots, police officers could be seen combing the area around the roadway, some armed with long rifles. An off-ramp saw a group of highly armed police officers peek into the trunk of a vehicle with gunshot holes in the windscreen.
One eyewitness reported seeing a person in handcuffs shortly after police announced the detention of a "person of interest."
Maine Highway Shooting
According to a Fox News report, four people were discovered shot to death on Tuesday at home in Bowdoin, a rural community approximately 30 miles northeast of Portland. Later in the day, hearses drove away from the house in the woods.
About 25 miles south of Bowdoin, on Interstate 295, the shooter opened fire, badly injuring one of three victims. Near the exit ramp where the shooting took place on the highway, a vehicle could be seen with bullet holes in the glass.
Authorities did not immediately disclose the victims, nor was there any word on a possible motivation for the killings.
Bowdoin local Eaton was taken into custody and held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in anticipation of his first court appearance later this week.
After being closed for many hours on Tuesday, Interstate 295 finally reopened late in the day.
It is possible that investigators will be working into the night to examine various crime sites and question potential witnesses. Anyone with knowledge regarding the shootings is being urged to contact the police.
Latest Spate of Mass Shootings
A string of recent mass shootings has rattled communities of all sizes, including a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky; and a Sweet 16 party in a tiny community in Alabama. The shootings in Maine are one example of this spate of recent mass homicides.
As cops closed southbound lanes on the highway in Yarmouth, traffic backed up. Except for one exit where police were investigating the automobile, the roadway reopened later Tuesday.
After being informed of the lockdown, which lasted approximately an hour and a half, Water Treatment Equipment Inc. employees closed the doors and pulled down the blinds. Workers witnessed police vehicles, ambulances, and fire engines backing up on the roadway.
"It definitely shifted the day, and the worry kicked in," manager Kim Snyder told AP News.
Governor Janet Mills of Maine took to Twitter to express gratitude to emergency personnel and offer prayers for the affected people. "Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened - acts of violence like we experienced today shake our state and our communities to the core."
