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Four people were fatally shot at a house in Maine on Tuesday shortly before gunfire wounded three others on a busy highway, in a pair of crimes that are linked, authorities said. Hours later, a man was charged with murder.
Police closed a portion of the interstate highway and residents and businesses in the area were ordered to shelter in place for about 90 minutes before authorities determined there was no threat to the general public.
The shootings are among a spate of recent mass killings that have shaken communities both large and small, including a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky and a Sweet 16 party in a small city in Alabama.
In Maine, police charged Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, with four counts of murder Tuesday evening but declined to discuss a possible motive for the shootings or identify the shooting victims. Eaton was expected to appear in court later this week.
The crimes began in rural Bowdoin, where the bodies were found, and continued with gunfire 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the south on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, police said. One of the three highway victims was critically wounded, police said.
Law enforcement officers, some carrying long rifles, could be seen canvassing areas near the highway after the shootings.
