LIMINGTON -– A Limington resident was shot after investigating a suspicious noise on Thursday night, York County Sheriff Bill King said.
“Our investigation shows the victim thought he saw a suspicious vehicle going around the neighborhood, so he grabbed a flashlight and went outside.” Sheriff King said. “He heard some rustling in the woods, went back to the woods, where he was confronted by a man in a mask. The man shot at him, and apparently hit him.”
The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Thursday on Staples Road, according to King.
A Friday morning news release by the York County Sheriff’s Department listed the victim as being “shot multiple times”, but Sheriff King told CBS13 he could only confirm one gunshot wound to the arm. He said their investigation shows that the attacker knew the victim.
“The victim does not know who his assailant is, but we do have some indication that the assailant was familiar with his victim or at least know who he was,” he said.
A friend of the victim told CBS13 off-camera that he didn’t know who the alleged shooter was, and says that his friend is pretty banged up but is awake and talking.
The sheriff says the shooter is still on the loose, but says because the assailant most likely knew the victim, he doesn’t believe the public is in danger.
“I want to assure the public that there’s not a mad man on the loose. This looked like it was somebody who was familiar with the victim, or at least knew who the victim was. So there’s not a man on the loose randomly shooting things,” he said.
Sheriff King also urges anyone who sees something suspicious to call the police before going out to investigate.
“If you see something suspicious, that’s why the police are there, give them a call and tell them what you see,” he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the York County Sheriff’s Department.