LEWISTON – A Norway man was shot by police late Wednesday after allegedly turning on an officer with a hammer in the police compound.

Vince Berube, 40, was shot at least twice in the gut as one officer fired and others rushed out into the compound. Police said three officers fired their guns and at least a half dozen shots were fired in all.

Berube was in surgery at Central Maine Medical Center early Thursday. A nursing supervisor did not know his condition.

A witness said the man was armed with a hammer when he was shot. About 9:40 p.m., two shots rang out from the fenced-in police yard at Park and Spruce streets. Seconds later, another six shots were fired.

The man dropped to the ground, bleeding from the abdomen and murmuring as police handcuffed him and called for an ambulance.

“Leave my wife alone,” the man said several times as he lay on the pavement.

Several people in the neighborhood said Berube’s wife or girlfriend had been arrested in Lewiston earlier in the night. Police could not confirm that report.

Officers quickly cordoned off the compound with yellow tape after the shooting as they began to secure the area outside the Police Department.

A truck inside the compound, which police said had been driven there by the man, was also secured by officers.

Police Officer Eugene Kavanagh was called out to the yard to administer first aid to Berube while waiting for United Ambulance paramedics.

Police came from all directions after an officer at the station began screaming: “shots fired in the compound!” moments after the first round was fired.

A lieutenant and a sergeant rushed into the compound, but it was unknown if either was involved in the shooting.

A man, who said he witnessed the shooting but refused to give his name, said there was only one officer in the police yard when the incident unfolded. He said it was that officer who fired the first shots.

The witness, who said he was walking down Spruce Street when shots rang out, said he first saw a man attacking a police car outside the station.

“This gentleman was beating on one of the detective cars with a hammer,” the man said. “There was a lady cop out there banging on a door trying to get other officers to come out. The man with the hammer turned toward his truck, like he was going toward the lady cop.”

The officer drew her weapon and fired, the witness said. Other officers then came out into the compound and there were more shots fired. The witness said the hammer flew from the victim’s hand.

Police said the suspect had hammered on several police cars before turning toward the officer in the compound.

“At this point, we don’t know why he drove into the compound and started smashing up cruisers,” said Police Chief William Welch. “We don’t know why he attacked the officer.”

While police began investigating the shooting, Auburn police sent an officer to Lewiston to assist at the scene. Several Maine State Police officials investigators from the Attorney General’s Office also arrived at the scene.

The A.G.’s Office investigates all shootings involving police officers in Maine.

Welch and Deputy Chief Michael Bussiere were both called to the station, as were several detectives, the city administrator and the district attorney.

A portion of Park and Spruce streets were blocked by barricades as police investigated the shooting. Several detectives began scouring the clubs along Lisbon Street, searching for potential witnesses to the shooting.

It was not known whether or not police had any earlier dealings with Berube or if he has a criminal record. Police said he could be charged with aggravated criminal mischief and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon if he survives the shooting.

The last time police in Lewiston shot a suspect was in August 1991, when a man wielding steak knives was shot twice.

Michael Roy was shot in the abdomen and neck after police encountered him during a domestic dispute at Tall Pines apartments.

Roy spent a week in a coma and four months total in the hospital. The Attorney General’s Office investigated the shooting and cleared police of blame.

Roy survived and later sued the police department as well as Officer Michael Whalen, who fired the shots.

Roy didn’t dispute he was carrying knives the night he was shot, but argued non-lethal alternatives could have been used.

Roy’s lawsuit was unsuccessful. He died several years later after choking on food.

Whalen, now a sergeant, was at the scene of the shooting Wednesday night. However, it was not known if he was present when the shots were fired.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

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