BOWDOIN, Maine – Police in Maine are investigating two shootings that left four people dead and three others wounded.
Update 3:50 p.m. EDT April 19: Police said that Joseph Eaton, 34, had confessed to killing the four people and then shooting drivers on Interstate 295 days after he was reportedly released from prison, according to The Associated Press.
Eaton was released from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday, the AP reported. He was in prison for an aggravated assault charge and his mother was the one who picked him up.
Police said the four people included Eaton’s parents, the AP said. During a news conference, they were identified as Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, according to the Portland Press Herald. The other two victims were identified by the newspaper as Robert Eger, 72, and Patti Eger, 62.
The Egers and Cynthia Eaton were found inside the house, according to the Press Herald. David Eaton was found in the barn. Police said in the news conference that the chief medical examiner’s office ruled their death homicides and said that all four died from gunshot wounds.
The people who were injured in the shootings off Interstate 295 were identified by the Press Herald as Sean Halsey, 51, and his two adult children, Justin Halsey, 29; and Paige Halsey 25. Paige Halsey remains in critical condition while the other two have injuries that are not considered to be life-threatening.
Police said in the news conference that Eaton had a lengthy criminal history in Maine and in Florida, the newspaper reported.
— Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Original story: Maine State Police said that four people were found shot and killed in a home in the small town of Bowdoin on Tuesday morning, the Portland Press Herald reported.
A relative of the victims found their bodies and called another relative who then called the police.
About an hour after the initial call, the authorities started receiving reports of shots being fired on an interstate in Yarmouth, Maine, about 25 miles away from the home, WMTW reported.
Three people were wounded in the second incident, one critically wounded, The Associated Press reported.
Police said the two cases were linked and arrested Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, charging him with four counts of murder Tuesday evening, however, he was not charged in relation to the Yarmouth shootings.
The Maine Department of Corrections said that Eaton had been released from prison on Friday after being sentenced to serve time for a probation violation in March 2021. He also has a criminal history that would have prevented him from legally possessing a gun, the AP reported.
His record included serving an eight-month sentence for assault and a previous conviction for aggravated assault, a felony.
Eaton is being held in a regional jail and will be in court later this week, CNN reported.
Police have not released the names of the victims or the motives.
The four killed in the Bowdoin incident have been taken to the state medical examiner’s office to be identified and to have autopsies conducted, the AP reported.
Police also did not release where Eaton got the weapons used in the shootings or what type of firearms they were.
