AUBURN, Maine — A Maine State Police tactical team shot a man to death on a rooftop early Saturday after an hours-long standoff in which authorities say the man opened fire on officers, two homes caught fire and one person who confronted the gunman apparently died.
Police issued a shelter-in-place order, evacuated homes and closed a stretch of street in Auburn, evoking a mass shooting in neighboring Lewiston less than eight months ago, when a gunman killed 18 people and wounded another 13 in the deadliest shooting in Maine history.
“It has been an intense and tragic morning here in Auburn,” said Timothy Cougle, the city’s deputy police commissioner, “especially in light of the events that took place last October.”
Fire investigators said later Saturday that human remains were found among the charred remains of the home and have not yet been identified.
Police said Leein Hinkley, 43, had been released on bail days earlier for a parole violation.. She tried to enter a home shortly before 1:00 a.m. Saturday and got into a fight with a man who was inside the house. A woman called 911 before fleeing through a window when she heard gunshots.
Auburn police officers found the woman hiding in the street about 10 minutes later, and she identified the person who had broken into the home as Hinkley. Officers heard screams inside the home and saw flames coming out of the windows and engulfing the building.
The deputy sheriff said Hinkley fired several shots at officers and was heard yelling at them from inside, so Auburn police called in the tactical team.
Shortly before 1:30 in the morning, a fire was reported in another house on the same street. Hinkley fled, hiding briefly in a neighboring garage, and then escaped to the roof of a home down the street, where he began screaming while brandishing a firearm, police said.
Photos from the scene show several vehicles parked next to the burned houses, including a yellow school bus.
Col. William Ross of the Maine State Police said a tactical team located Hinkley on the rooftop with a firearm shortly after 5:30 a.m. and two police officers shot him dead moments later. Ross did not offer details about what happened during the four hours of the confrontation.
Capt. Chris Moretto of the Auburn Fire Department said there were three explosions around 2:15 a.m. that were believed to be related to the fire, the Lewiston Sun-Journal reported. Shortly before 3:00 a.m. another explosion was heard, according to the newspaper.
Ross said Hinkley had been held on a probation violation related to his 2011 conviction for domestic violence and aggravated assault, as well as a recent arrest for domestic violence. However, he was released Wednesday when a court reduced his bail to $1,500 with conditions, including house arrest at a home in Lewiston.
The Lewiston Sun Journal had reported in 2012 that Hinkley, of Sabattus, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the double stabbing of his ex-girlfriend and a Samaritan who tried to intervene.
Ross added that a state police major crimes unit will investigate the criminal conduct and the prosecutor’s office will investigate the police shooting. The two agents involved will be on leave pending the outcome of that investigation.
Source: AP
