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PORTLAND, Maine — Local police shut down Allen Avenue Friday afternoon after a man apparently fatally shot himself when Gorham police were attempting to serve him with official papers.
The incident took place just after noon at 459 Allen Ave., at the Residences condo complex. Police advised residents of the complex to shelter in place after the gunshot was heard inside one of the units.
Officers spent several hours trying to contact the man, deploying three robots inside the unit in an attempt to ascertain the situation, according to Interim Assistant Chief Robert Martin.
But the robots were obstructed, and a police dog from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office ultimately had to go in to find the body. At that point, a SWAT team went in and located the body on the second floor, Martin said around 3 p.m.
Martin didn’t share other details. He declined to identify the man, pending notification of his family.
Police used a “reverse 911” phone tree to notify neighbors of the situation and advise them to stay indoors until the situation was resolved. Earlier in the afternoon, Martin said there was no immediate danger to anyone outside the condominium complex.
“There’s no chance the person could escape or make his way anywhere else,” Martin said at the time. “He’s contained inside to the best of our knowledge prior to us getting here, but we don’t believe he fled the residence.”
One resident of the condo complex, Janice Murphy, said she knew the man who lived in the unit that police were responding to on Friday. She described him as quiet and friendly, but said that he also seemed troubled and like “kind of a lost soul.” He took aimless walks around the property, and she noted that police officers were also at his unit last weekend.
