A Maine State Police trooper and two New Hampshire state troopers fatally shot a man on the Piscataqua River Bridge early Thursday morning.
The man is accused of killing his wife in Troy, New Hampshire, before parking in the middle of the Piscataqua River Bridge around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, Maine State Police Colonel Bill Ross said during a new conference Thursday afternoon. Police attempted to negotiate with the man before he exited his vehicle with a raised gun, Ross said.
Maine State Police Trooper Craig Nilsen and two unnamed New Hampshire troopers fatally shot the man, who fell off the bridge and into the water, according to Ross.
The U.S. Coast Guard quickly recovered the man’s body, Ross said. Police have not released the man’s name.
An 8-year-old child found fatally shot in the backseat was not shot by police, Ross said. He declined to answer questions about how police knew that, citing an ongoing investigation.
The 8-year-old was the child of the man and woman, Ross said.
The man called 911 at 2:07 a.m. to say he had been in a fight with his wife and said during the call that she was dead, Ross said. Kittery police then found his car parked on the bridge at 2:30 a.m.
Police in New Hampshire found the woman’s body and are investigating her death, Ross said.
The Maine attorney’s general office is investigating the fatal shooting by police because it happened on the Maine side of the bridge.The troopers involved in the shooting are on leave, which is standard procedure, Ross said.
Ross declined to share additional details because of the ongoing investigation.
The Piscataqua River Bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine. Between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the bridge daily, with higher traffic volumes during peak periods, according to Paul Merrill, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Transportation.
The bridge was closed for hours Thursday as police investigated and reopened around 9:30 a.m.
