Police shoot man on New Hampshire-Maine bridge along I-95; 8-year-old child found dead in vehicle

crime

The bridge reopened early Thursday after being closed for about seven hours.

By CALEB JONES, Associated Press

updated on August 29, 2024 | 2:42 p.m.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A man being pursued for the killing of a woman in New Hampshire was shot by police and fell from the Interstate 95 bridge that connects the state to Maine, officials said Thursday. An 8-year-old child was found dead in the man's vehicle.

The child's death was “not related” to the shooting of three police officers who fired their weapons after the man got out of his vehicle and raised a gun, Maine State Police Chief William Ross said at a press conference in Kittery, Maine.

Ross repeated the statement to emphasize that the child was not killed by police gunfire.

The Piscataqua Bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine – and is crossed by tens of thousands of vehicles every day. Early Thursday, the bridge reopened after a seven-hour closure. Traffic was backed up on both sides as drivers were diverted to two other bridges.

Ross said the man called to report a domestic dispute in Troy, New Hampshire, where police found a woman's body about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in the western part of the state and then drove to the bridge, officials said.

No names were released.

According to the Maine Department of Transportation, between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the Piscataqua Bridge every day.

Associated Press reporters David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.