LEWISTON — A report of gunshots fired on Spruce Street on Friday brought police and a crowd of onlookers to the edge of Kennedy Park.
Lewiston police officer Robert Pearce leads a handcuffed suspect from an apartment building at 47 Spruce St. to the police station on Friday afternoon. To see a video of the arrest, visit sunjournal.com.
Randy St. Laurent, left, and Larry Maillet of the Lewiston Police Department keep an eye on the apartment building at 47 Spruce Street in Lewiston on Friday.
Lewiston police officer Robert Pearce leads a handcuffed suspect from an apartment building at 47 Spruce St. to the police station on Friday afternoon. To see a video of the arrest, visit sunjournal.com.
Police with rifles swarmed the area near Spruce and Knox streets, contending with a growing crowd and with conflicting reports about what had transpired.
Some witnesses suggested a man fired a shot from a gun at about 4 p.m. before slipping into a nearby tenement. Others insisted it was only a pellet gun or perhaps a toy.
Police, on the other hand, said it was a real firearm and it had been fired near Kennedy Park. Unlike the witnesses, police offered proof of their version — video footage taken from one of the city cameras mounted on downtown rooftops.
Stephen Parker, 25, who was visiting from Alabama, was charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.
The reckless conduct charge, police said, stems from Parker's firing of the handgun on a crowded section of Spruce Street.
"It was 10 after 4 p.m. on a nice, sunny day," said Lewiston police Lt. Brian O'Malley. "It's unbelievable how many people were out there."
Parker was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, police said, because of the manner in which he tried to hide the gun inside an apartment. They did not elaborate on that charge.
Police who responded focused on a pair of apartment houses near the intersection of Spruce and Knox. While several officers secured the buildings from the sidewalk, others began to search the narrow cluster of stairways between 47 Spruce St. and a neighboring tenement.
After about a half-hour, Parker was brought out of an apartment in handcuffs. As he was led to the police station, a group of onlookers jeered as they stood near the skateboard park.
For more than a year, police have used high-resolution video cameras perched in several locations throughout the city, including the City Hall clock tower, the top of the Oak Street parking garage and the roof of the Central Fire Station.
Police reviewed footage from the Spruce Street incident and said they could clearly see the gun being discharged. The weapon was later recovered from the apartment in which Parker was found, police said.
Parker was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn where he remained later Friday night.
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Welcome
We welcome good people to Auburn. The trashy people can stay where they are. Maine is a welfare state and many move here for that also others came because the Catholic Charities of Maine brought them here... thank you very much CCofM... you should have to pay for their welfare, rent, food, etc. not the state taxpayer.
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i use to live in that part of town over 20 years ago, and i moved out cause of this. all these outsiders that don't come from our town need to go back where they came from. back in the good old days this didn't happen. whats going on with this young generation. something is terribly wrong. i wish there was a way to fix this but i just don't see it. that area of town i never go there anymore. it's just to scarey. i feel these outsiders are pushing us who are from here away from what use to be our home. i feel very sad for my home town.
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Every one of those so called parents who have their young children out on the streets during this should also be charged with child endangerment!
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As a gun owner,trained and certified to carry; I know this will stir- up the "Outlaw all guns group." This represents a migrant "visitor" that could care less about laws and or gun safety.
I applaud the Lewiston Police on their handling of this incident in a prompt and professional manner, despite the neighborhood and audience. The end of the video depicts the true mentality of the young bystanders. Respect for authority seems to be a joke to them, and apparently they do not care who knows this.
Good job LPD, from an Auburn respectful citizen.
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Looks like the cameras are working, maybe they should put more up downtown.
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Wow..what is wrong with people? To actually gather around an area that they heard gunshots from!?! People are so desperate for entertainment...they put their lives in danger. Simply crazy!!
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