Maine shooting Grisly scene at Bowdoin home revealed as Joseph Eaton motive unknown
Cynthia Eaton, David Eaton, Patricia Eger and Robert Eger were named as the four victims killed
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Court records in the Maine shooting spree revealed the grisly crime scene discovered by police called to the scene after suspect Joseph Eaton allegedly shot and killed four people, including his parents and their two friends.
The suspect appeared in court in West Bath on Thursday, his first appearance since the killings.
The victims, who all died of gunshot wounds, include his parents Cynthia Eaton, 62 and David Eaton, 66, and their friends Robert Eger, 72 and Patricia Eger, 62.
Court documents state that Patti’s sister visited the home at about 9am, finding drops of blood near the door, WABI reported.
Inside, she discovered a number of guns and bullet holes. She exited the home and called 911.
Police have said they found one victim in a barn and three others in the home. Court documents reveal that a dog was also shot at the scene.
Detectives searching the area also discovered a note stating that someone had been molested and that “there was nothing done about it”
The note also stated that someone had been freed of pain and that the author of the note wanted “a new life”.
The four victims are believed to have been killed one day before they were discovered on Tuesday morning.
Not long after the discovery, police responded to a shooting along a highway where Sean Halsey, 51, and his two children, Justin, 29, and Paige, 25, had all been shot.
They were transported to Maine Medical Center.
The father and son suffered injuries not considered life-threatening while Ms Halsey was in critical condition. Mr Halsey said on Wednesday afternoon that his daughter’s breathing tube had been removed and that she was on the road to recovery.
The car the suspect had been driving was rented by his parents at Portland Jetport when they arrived in the state on 13 April to collect their son upon his release from prison.
Mr Eaton didn’t enter a plea in court on Thursday. His next court date has been scheduled for 28 June.
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Four dead and several injured after related shootings on Maine interstate and at nearby home
Law enforcement authorities in Maine have charged a man with murder in connection to the killings of four people who were found inside a house in Bowdoin on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, police responded to reports that several vehicles on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, had been hit by gunfire. They then confirmed that the incident on the highway was linked to four bodies that were discovered in Bowdoin. The man charged with the murder has been identified by police as 34-year-old Joseph Eaton of Bowdoin.
A large police presence, including officers armed with rifles, responded to the highway following the shooting. A total of three people were injured in the highway shooting, according to the Associated Press, with one of them in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.
Read more:
Four dead and several hurt in shooting spree on Maine interstate and at nearby home
Authorities have charged a Bowdoin man with murder
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.
Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This year is on track to be no different. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US — with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.
As in a number of other years, including 2022, some of the most visible gun violence in the US this year has taken place at schools. In February, a shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan left three students dead and five other people injured. In late March, a mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville claimed six lives.
Other gunmen may have been targeting certain ethnic communities: in January in Half Moon Bay, California, a shooting at a dancehall in a predominantly Asian-American area left 11 people dead. Two days later, another mass shooting in nearby Monterey Bay, California killed seven more people.
Read more:
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
There have already been more than 140 mass shootings in the United States in 2023
Seven people shot in Maine latest victims in series of US mass shootings
The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance.
The names of the victims were not released, and state police didn’t discuss any possible motive. The four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.
The seven people shot Tuesday were the latest victims of mass shootings in the U.S., whose targets included a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Sweet Sixteen party in a small city in Alabama.
PHOTOS: Police shuts down highway after shooting
Suspect said ‘I just wish somebody would forgive me’ in video shared before shooting
In a video shared on social media by Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, he is seen sitting in a car filming himself as he chokes up with tears and goes on a confusing ramble.
“I’m probably going to get emotional just talking about it,” he said.
“But a lot of people look at you and think ‘oh well there’s just another f*** up, another guy that can’t get his stuff together, treats people like s***’ and then they turn around and claim to be Christian.
“And you can’t forgive somebody or understand what they go through. You can’t give someone a second chance but you say you’re Christian. How does that make sense? Why can’t you just try to get to know the person again? What good’s it do to hate somebody? It destroys you.
“It’s not the way things were supposed to be done, the way things were made.”
Mr Eaton then went on to say he wants forgiveness for “the things I did” as he said he has had “trauma for a long time”.
“Just need to try to forgive me for the things I did. I’ve been dealing with trauma for a long time on things I don’t talk to people about – being molested and stuff it destroys somebody,” he said.
“I know I’m good for my kids. I just wish somebody would forgive me. Some people, I don’t get it.”
Hours after posting the video, Mr Eaton allegedly went on a shooting rampage across two locations in Maine on Tuesday.
More than 11,000 dead from gun violence this year
According to the Gun Violence Archive, shootings have already claimed more than 11,000 lives in total in the US in 2023, with more than 6,000 people using a gun to die by suicide. Another 9,000 people have been injured in a shooting so far this year.
The Gun Violence Archive’s definition holds that mass shootings include at least four people either injured or killed, not including the shooter.
Despite the prevalance of gun violence this year and in recent years in the US, there has not been a renewed push to tighten the country’s liberal gun laws in Congress since a bipartisan group of legislators introduced and passed a modest array of reforms after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last year.
On a state level, a number of states have moved over the last year to remove barriers to purchasing and carrying firearms. Last year, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah all passed laws to no longer require people to hold a permit to carry a firearm, while legislators in states like Georgia and Ohio have moved to pass similar laws this year.
A select number of other states have gone in the other direction: voters in Oregon, for example, narrowly approved a ballot measure last year to require permits to purchase a firearm and ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Maine State Police to hold press conference at 3pm
Maine State Police is set to hold a press conference at 3pm on Wednesday in August to share updates about Tuesday’s shootings that left four dead and three injured.
Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday. He was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black.
He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Following his Friday 14 April release, Mr Eaton was arrested on Tuesday after four bodies were found in a home on Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The killings have been connected to a highway shooting in which three people were injured later on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.
While Mr Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder, he hasn’t yet been charged in connection to the highway shooting. One of those shot on the highway remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
Records: Maine shooting suspect couldn’t legally own guns
A Maine man who police say killed four people in a home and then shot three others randomly on a busy highway had a criminal history that should have prevented him from legally possessing a gun, according to state records.
The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.
“This is an active investigation with a lot of moving parts,” Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday.
The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, she said. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf, a jail official said Wednesday.
The names of the victims were not released, and state police didn’t discuss any possible motive. The four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.
List of deadliest shootings within last year
Dadeville, Alabama
The shooting unfolded at a “Sweet 16” birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, leaving four people dead and a further 28 injured.
According to local police, the shooting began at around 10.34pm on Saturday (15 April) during a celebration held at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville, a small town of around 3,000 residents lying 45 miles northeast of Montgomery.
As of 18 April, no arrests have been made and authorities declined to speculate on the suspect or their possible motive.
The victims have been identified as Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, Mersiah Collins, 19, Corbin Holston, 23, and KeKe Nicole Smith, 17.
Louisville, Kentucky
A 25-year-old employee opened fire at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on 10 April, killing five people and injuring eight others while live streaming the attack.
The shooter, identified as bank employee Connor Sturgeon, entered the Old National Bank in the downtown area of the city at around 8.30am armed with an AR-15-style rifle.
He shot and killed four bank executives inside the first-floor conference room before exchanging gunfire with responding police officers. Louisville deputy police chief Paul Humphrey said that he was shot dead by officer fire.
A fifth victim later succumbed to her injuries in hospital. All five were executives at the bank.
The victims have now been identified as Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliott, Juliana Farmer, James Tutt, and Deana Eckert.
Nashville, Tenessee
Three nine-year-old students and three staff members died after a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, on 27 March 2023.
The suspect, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was also killed by police at The Covenant School in the Green Hills suburb of the city.
An illustrator and graphic designer who attended Nossi College of Art, Hale had no criminal record prior to the massacre and was not known to law enforcement.
Hale was a former student at Covenant. Over the course of their investigation, officers have discovered manifesto-like writings and apparent research into the facilities and entry points at Covenant.
Students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61, all died in the attack.
Koonce was The Covenant School’s headteacher. She ran towards the shooter before she was killed in a hallway.
Half Moon Bay, California
The mass shooting unfolded on 23 January, with seven victims killed across two agricultural business locations – a mushroom farm and a trucking facility.
The gunman, Chunli Zhao, shot dead four people at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, and killed another three victims at Concord Farms located around two miles away, according to authorities. He was a former employee at both farms.
The horror attack is believed to have been witnessed by many children, as many farm workers live on-site with their families.
Monterey Park, California
Huu Can Tran, 72, a one-time fixture at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, killed 11 people and wounded nine with a submachine gun-style semiautomatic handgun, on 21 January. He stormed inside the dance studio during the Lunar New Year celebrations and killed himself as police surrounded his van the next morning.
The victims were older Asian Americans, mostly in their 60s and 70s.
Chesapeake, Virginia
Andre Bing, a manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake, killed six and wounded six others during an employee meeting on 22 November 2022. He then shot himself.
Chesapeake officials released a chilling “death note” in which Bing complained that people “laughed at me and said I was like Jeffrey Dahmer”.
The long, rambling note was found on the 31-year-old mass shooter’s cellphone and released by Chesapeake officials – providing a glimpse into his motive behind the horror attack.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Five people were killed and 17 wounded when a 22-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. The suspect, who was subdued by patrons, is awaiting trial.
Authorities said that Anderson Lee Aldrich was seen pulling into a parking lot at Club Q just before midnight on 19 November 2022, where they entered and immediately opened fire.
Aldrich was charged with 305 criminal counts, including five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime – or “hate” crime – and several charges of attempted murder and assault in the first-degree and second-degree.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Fifteen-year-old Austin Thompson allegedly killed five people and injured two more in a shooting in Raleigh on 13 October 2022. The suspect eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested.
The fatal victims were identified as Nicole Connors, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, Mary Marshall, 35, Gabriel Torres, 29, James Thompson, 16. Thompson’s brother and a police officer were among the deceased.
Highland Park, Illinois
Six people were killed and at least 30 wounded when suspect Robert Crimo opened fire on an Independence Day parade on 4 July in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
According to police, Crimo had planned an attack for weeks and fired more than 80 rounds randomly into the crowd watching the parade.
Prosecutors also say Crimo made a “voluntary statement confessing to his actions” and revealed that the young man had made his way to Madison, Wisconsin, where he intended to commit another mass shooting but turned back.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Three people died and 14 people were injured in a shooting on 5 June in front of a restaurant. Three people have been arrested.
Some 16 of the victims were adults and one was a minor. In total, fourteen people were shot, while three were hit by vehicles.
Philadelphia
Three people died and 11 others were injured on 4 June on a Philadelphia busy block during a melee that began with a fistfight and was followed by random gunfire. Two men, 34-year-old Rashann Vereen and 18-year-old Quran Garner, are in custody for two of the deaths; other people have also been arrested in connection with the melee.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Gunman Michael Louis killed his surgeon and three other people at a medical office on 1 June 2022. The gunman killed himself as police arrived.
Uvalde, Texas
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on 24 May in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. More than 15 other people were wounded.
The violence began before Salvador Ramos even arrived at the grade school. According to police and family members, he shot his grandmother in the head and stole the family truck, before heading to Robb Elementary School.
Buffalo, New York
White gunman Peyton Grendon opened fire on 14 May 2022 at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighbourhood, killing 10 people and injuring others.
The attack, which Gendron had planned for months, was carried out with an AR-15 rifle and streamed live. He was arrested immediately after the massacre.
Gendron drove around 200 miles from his home to the predominantly Black community to carry out the attack.
In November 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to all state charges against him, convictions that guarantee a life prison sentence. He was officially sentenced in February.
He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, and one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, among other charges.
‘They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time'
Ian Halsey, of Bowdoinham, said that two cousins were shot and that his uncle suffered shrapnel injuries in a single car. One of his cousins is in critical condition, and none of the family knew the shooter, he said.
“They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said of his family. “It’s horrible what happened.”