A Maine State Police tactical team fatally shot a man on a rooftop after an hourslong standoff in which authorities said he fired at officers, two homes burned down and a person who fought with him died. Police issued a shelter-in-place order, evacuated homes and closed a section of a street in Auburn on Saturday, trigging memories of the mass shooting in nearby Lewiston last year, when a gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 others in the deadliest shooting in Maine’s history, reports the Associated Press. “It’s been an intense and tragic morning here in Auburn,” said deputy police chief Timothy Cougle.
Police said Leein Hinkley, 43, had been released on bail on a probation violation. He tried to break into a home about 1 a.m. Saturday, and got into a fight with a man inside. A woman called 911 and fled through a window when she heard gunshots. Police officers found the woman hiding nearby 10 minutes later, and she identified the person who broke in as Hinkley. Cougle said Hinkley fired shots at officers and yelled at them. Soon another house was on fire. Hinkley fled, hiding in a garage, then went to a flat rooftop of a home down the street, where he began “yelling and screaming” while brandishing a firearm, police said. Maine State Police Col. William Ross said a tactical team located Hinkley on the rooftop with a handgun at 5:30 a.m., and two troopers shot and killed him. Hinkley had been in custody on a probation violation related to his 2011 conviction on domestic violence and elevated aggravated assault, as well as a recent domestic violence arrest. He was released Wednesday after a court lowered his bail to $1,500 with conditions, including house arrest.