A Brunswick man was arrested after a standoff that lasted more than two hours in the parking lot of a Burger King in Portland on Friday night.
Portland police arrived at the Burger King at 449 Forest Avenue at around 7 p.m. for a report that a man had driven through the drive through, threatened an employee and waved a rifle, according to interim assistant chief of police Robert Martin. The man, identified as 44-year-old Gabriel McKusick, then drove into the parking lot.
Officers attempted to get McKusick to leave the vehicle, but he refused, and a crisis negotiator from the Westbrook Police Department was called to the scene. Local businesses were evacuated at the time, and two armored vehicles were brought to the parking lot.
After more than two hours attempting to negotiate with McKusick, officers removed him from the vehicle with the use of a chemical irritant. McKusick, who received cuts from broken glass, was transported to Maine Medical Center and then to the Cumberland County Jail.
An AR-15 rifle with a double stacked magazine containing almost 60 rounds of ammunition was found in McKusick’s vehicle, according to Martin.
McKusick has been charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, failure to submit to arrest, creating a police standoff and illegal possession of a firearm. He is being held at the Cumberland County Jail without bail.
It was not immediately clear on Saturday when McKusick’s initial court date will be.
An investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information can contact the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8575.