LEE, Maine — Police said five people were shot in three northern Maine towns Thursday night and the man accused of shooting them was arrested Friday afternoon after an extensive search.
Lt. Sean Hashey of the Maine State Police said two men were shot and killed and three others were shot. Another man was beaten, he said.
Anthony Lord, 35, was arrested Friday in Houlton, Maine. Police had been searching for him after the shootings in Lee, Benedicta and Silver Ridge on Thursday night. Police had earlier said four people were shot.
Police said Lord took a 21-year-old woman with him. She was still with Lord when police found him and was safe.
Police said they were following Lord, but then lost track of him. Thirty minutes later, they received report of two more shot.
Earlier Friday, police identified Lord, a registered sex offender, as the gunman.
Police didn't identify the victims, but said they plan to release the names of those injured later.
The search was primarily concentrated in the Lee area, which is 40 miles south of Benedicta. Silver Ridge is about 36 miles north of Lee, and Lee is about 60 miles northeast of Bangor. Police were stopping every vehicle and checking inside.
Friday morning police considered Lord, of Crystal and Houlton, armed and dangerous. The had believed Lord stole a Maine-registered 2010
Lord has a criminal record that includes convictions for domestic assault, criminal threatening and assault, police said. He was placed on the state's sex-offender registry after being convicted of unlawful sexual contact with someone under the age of 14.
State police also are investigating the death of his 6-month-old son, who was discovered unresponsive by his mother in Millinocket in May, McCausland said.
Residents said the region is normally quiet and peaceful.
"It's mind-blowing. To see a SWAT team in Lee or Lincoln is ridiculous," said Rick Jipson, a mechanic who lives nearby in the town of Lowell.
Residents didn't appear to be panicked by the police presence.
"We're pretty well armed around here," said James Knealand, who works at Lincoln Pulp & Paper and lives near a police checkpoint in Lee.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
