By Canadian Press

Authorities: Police gunfire did not kill 8-year-old who was found in the vehicle on an I-95 bridge

Aug 29, 2024 | 12:30 PM

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A man being pursued in the killing of a woman in New Hampshire was shot by police and tumbled from the Interstate 95 bridge that connects the state to Maine, officials said Thursday. An 8-year-old child was found dead in the man’s vehicle.

The child’s death was “not associated” with gunfire from three law enforcement officials who discharged their weapons after the man stepped out of his vehicle and raised a gun, William Ross, chief of Maine State Police, said at a press conference in Kittery, Maine.

The man’s body was recovered from the water below the bridge by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Piscataqua River Bridge reopened Thursday morning after being closed for about seven hours, Maine State Police said. Traffic was backed up on both sides as drivers were diverted to two other bridges.

The Piscataqua bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine — and tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge daily.

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The man called to report a domestic altercation in Troy, New Hampshire, where police found a woman’s body about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in the western part of the state, and then drove to the bridge, officials said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A man being pursued in the killing of a woman in New Hampshire was fatally shot by police on a bridge that connects the state to Maine, authorities said Thursday. An 8-year-old child was found shot to death in the man’s car.

The Piscataqua River Bridge along Interstate 95 reopened Thursday morning after being closed for about seven hours, Maine State Police said. Traffic was backed up on both sides as drivers were diverted to two other bridges.

The Piscataqua bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine — and tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge daily.

The man apparently killed a woman at a home overnight in Troy, New Hampshire, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in the western part of the state, and then drove to the bridge, Attorney General John Formella said in a news release.

“Early this morning police engaged with the adult male on the bridge in an incident that ended with the male being fatally shot. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is now investigating that officer-involved shooting incident,” the news release said.

“Police on the bridge also found an 8-year-old child fatally shot” in the man’s vehicle, the news release said. The exact circumstances “remain under active investigation.”

There was no threat to the public and the bridge remained closed in both directions because of the investigation, the news release said.

No names have been released.

Between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the Piscataqua bridge each day, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.

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Associated Press reporters David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

Caleb Jones, The Associated Press