AUBURN (AP) – A police tactical team in the United States fatally shot a man on a rooftop early on Saturday after an hours-long standoff in which authorities said he opened fire at officers, two homes burned down and a person who fought with him apparently died.
Police issued a shelter-in-place order, evacuated homes and closed a section of the street in Auburn, Maine triggering memories of the mass shooting in neighboring Lewiston less than eight months ago, when a gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 others in the deadliest shooting in Maine’s history.
“It’s been an intense and tragic morning here in Auburn,” said deputy chief of police Timothy Cougle, “especially in light of the events that took place this past October”.
Fire investigators later on Saturday said human remains were found in the charred wreckage of the home and had yet to be identified.Police said Leein Hinkley, 43, had been released on bail days earlier on a probation violation. He tried to break into a home just before 1am on Saturday, and got into a fight with a man inside. A woman called 911 and fled through a window when she heard gunshots.
Auburn police officers found the woman hiding down the street about 10 minutes later, and she identified the person who broke in as Hinkley. Officers heard yelling inside the house and saw flames coming from the windows and engulfing the building.
The deputy chief said Hinkley fired shots at officers several times and was heard yelling at them from inside, and Auburn police called for the tactical team.
Shortly before 1.30am another house on the street was reported on fire.
Hinkley fled, briefly hiding in a neighbouring garage, then fled to a flat rooftop of a home down the street, where he began “yelling and screaming” while brandishing a firearm, police said.
Photos of scene show several vehicles parked beside the homes also burned, including a yellow school bus.
Colonel William Ross of the Maine State Police said a tactical team located Hinkley on the rooftop with a handgun just after 5.30am, and two troopers shot and killed him moments later.
Captain Chris Moretto of the Auburn Fire Department said there were three explosions around 2.15am that were believed to be related to the fire, the Lewiston Sun-Journal reported.
Another explosion was heard shortly before 3am, the newspaper reported.
