A Bowdoin man has been arrested in connection with several shootings that occurred in Bowdoin and Yarmouth Tuesday morning that left four people dead and three injured, one critically.
Joseph Eaton, 34, was taken into custody at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wicasset on Tuesday.
Police said four bodies were found inside a home on the Augusta Road in Bowdoin. A short time later, about 10:30 a.m., three people were shot while driving south on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth. All three have been taken to a hospital.
A late Tuesday press release from Maine State Police said Eaton was charged in connection with the four Bowdoin murders. He is also believed to have been involved in the Yarmouth shootings, a spokesperson said.
A section of I-295 southbound between Freeport and Yarmouth was closed for much of the afternoon as police investigated the shootings, but it was reopened by 4:45 pm. However, police said exit 15 southbound in Yarmouth remained closed.
The chief medical examiner is conducting autopsies on the four people found inside the Bowdoin home to determine the exact cause of death.
Gov. Janet Mills said in a tweet that she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the incident. She said she was praying for the swift recovery of those hospitalized, and that her thoughts were with the victims' families and friends.
Police were working late into the night at the Bowdoin residence on Augusta Road. Nearly a dozen local and state police vehicles lined the driveway set back from the road. At one point, two hearses arrived to take four bodies away.
Authorities are withholding the names of the victims until next of kin are notified.
Eaton is expected to appear in court later this week.
Anyone who witnessed either incident is asked to call police at 624-7076 and press option 9.
