Maine: Public warned to avoid area after police standoff at burning home
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Police have warned the public in Auburn, Maine to avoid an area where law enforcement entered into a standoff with a gunman at a burning home.
A shelter-in-place order has been lifted, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported.
In a statement to the local paper, police said, “There is no danger to the public.”
“There will continue to be a heavy police and fire presence around the scene. Officials ask the public to avoid the area if possible,” they added.
Fire and rescue crews in addition to police rushed to Russell Avenue in Auburn in western Maine after gunfire was reported, explosions could be heard, and at least two houses went up in flames.
The gunman was reported to be holed up in a garage in the area – it remains unclear if he was alone at the residence. Fire crews were at the scene to douse the houses while police worked to locate the gunman. Homes in the immediate vicinity were evacuated and a part of the street was blocked off.
An emergency alert was sent out to area residents telling them to shelter in place and Central Maine Power shut down electricity to the area.
The Maine Police State tactical team got to the area at about 2.45am when the gunman was still at large.
The flames from one of the burning homes reached the heights of the surrounding houses as police worked to find the gunman.
Jeremy Perron got a phone call from a neighbor saying that the house next to his was in flames and that he should leave. Moments later, he got a second call from the neighbor saying that he should stay in the home as there was a gunman shooting at police, he told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Police later told Perron he needed to get out. Going to his garage to get his car, he could hear a man say “Don’t do it! Don’t do it, man! I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
Another area resident told the paper that the gunman was heard screaming at police and someone who could have been his girlfriend.
Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department deputies also responded to the scene as did police forces from other towns in the area, such as Lewiston and Mechanic Falls.
More follows…
