A 42-year-old Auburn man suspected of shooting his mother to death on Friday was shot and killed, possibly early Saturday morning after an 18 hour standoff with police. James Michael Peters was found dead inside the home at 1806 Minot Ave. after retreating inside the house with an assault rifle Friday morning.

Police said Peters shot and killed 70-year-old Margaret Peters with the weapon at about 10:30 a.m. Friday near the door to the home they shared.

The body of the victim remained in the driveway as the standoff continued. At about 3 a.m., police entered the home and found James Peters dead, according to Auburn police Chief Phil Crowell. Whether he died from his own gun or from rounds fired by police remained unknown.

The investigation into the deaths of both victims was beginning immediately Saturday morning. A stretch of Minot Avenue was expected to remain blocked off until at least 9 a.m.

Peter’s body was found near a window that police had fired at earlier in the night, police said. Because of the possibility that he may have died as a result of police gunfire, the Maine Attorney General’s Office will investigate that part of the incident.

Officers had been negotiating with Peters through a loudspeaker for 18 hours, continuing even after he shot at them several times throughout the night.Police said Michael James Peters was holed up in his Minot Avenue home with an assault rifle late Friday.

A long history of family violence and tragedy may have led to the killing of the Auburn woman. Peters, who lived with his mother police said, was believed to have shot her after a dispute about living arrangements.

During the course of the standoff, Peters exchanged gunfire with police at least twice. A Maine State Police trooper was injured when he was struck in the face by flying glass, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The injuries were not serious and the officer remained at the site, McCausland said. It was not known if the suspect was hurt in the volley of bullets.

“Consider what you just did. You shot at us,” a State Police negotiator said through a public address system. “Put the gun down. This is obviously no way to resolve the situation.”

At about 5:20 p.m. a hostage negotiator could be heard telling the shooter over a megaphone, “Come on out. Put your weapon down. We’ll ensure you’ll get the treatment you need.” There was shouting and a dog barking as several gunshots rang out, first a series of staccato pops, followed by a rapid burst.

“Mike, this is no way to have the situation end,” the negotiator called out. Later, the negotiator said, “Mike, the only peaceful solution is for you to put your hands up, put your weapons down. Don’t fire at anyone again. We want to help you.”

“We’ve been out here a long time. Our patience is wearing thin,” the negotiator said.

Police fired percussion grenades into the house, in an apparent attempt to rattle Peters or to get his attention. They tried offering cigarettes and food. They told Peters they would not shoot if he came outside unarmed.

“We just want you to get some help,” police told the suspect. “You’re only making the situation worse.”

Many hours after the standoff began, police snipers and other officers continued to surround the house and a stretch of Minot Avenue remained closed. An armored vehicle maneuvered in the road a short distance from Peters’ home.

State police guided a small, robotic vehicle down Minot Avenue toward the house, but it was not immediately clear what that equipment was used for.

Shortly after nightfall, police speaking through the public address system, told Peters to flash his lights on and off to let them know he was OK.

“They said that three times and that made me nervous, because he obviously didn’t do it” said Chantelle Withee, who lives on a hill a short distance from the Peters home.

But police said about 9 p.m. that they believed James Peters was still alive inside the house, and they were taking every precaution to see that he did not come out with a weapon in his hand.

“We’re here for the long haul,” McCausland said. “We’re here as long as it takes to resolve this safely.”

Police did not say if they had contacted Peters by telephone at any point during the standoff. Early Friday afternoon, the telephone rang at the house, but was not answered. Later in the day, a recorded voice announced that the phone was no longer in service.

It was believed the slaying was first reported by a woman who was driving along Minot Avenue when shots were first fired Friday morning.

The body of Margaret Peters was sprawled face down close to the doorway of her home when the first officers arrived about 10:30 a.m. She was clad in a blue sweater over what appears to be a white nightgown. There were shoes or slippers on her feet.

Neighbor Joan Merrill, who has known Margaret Peters for about eight years, was told by police that a woman was nearly decapitated by gunfire and her body was lying on the driveway.

She also was told that a “man was running around with an AK-47.” Merrill was instructed to return to her home and lock her doors.

Other neighbors also were told to stay indoors and several neighbors, schools and businesses locked their doors. But police learned soon after that James Peters had fled inside the house and was not on the loose.

Those familiar with the Peters family described the relationship between Margaret and her son as turbulent. One woman said Margaret had expressed fear of her son, who she had described as a “severe alcoholic.”

Others who know the family, said James Peters was frequently angry since moving in with his mother.

Margaret Peters purchased the Minot Avenue property with her husband in July 2001. After she was hospitalized earlier this year, she moved back into her home, and her son James lived with her, according to a pair of family friends.

Margaret’s husband, Wilbur, died in 2005 after he apparently choked while eating. A second son, 45-year-old John Peters, committed suicide in 2006 at his apartment in New Auburn.

Several people who know the family said John Peters had suffered from medical problems before he committed suicide. Both James and Margaret Peters were being treated for physical problems as well, friends said.

James Peters received checks from disability insurance and did not work.

Police said they did not know where, or why, James Peters was in possession of an assault rifle. The origin of the gun was part of their investigation.

A man who lives down the road from Margaret Peters said he was told in the minutes after the shooting that a man had shot his mother.

Other neighbors said they did not realize what was going on until they saw police officers with their guns drawn. Still others received a recorded message from the police department.

“The police told us to lock our doors,” said Debbie Landry, who works in an office building at 690 Minot Ave. “They (office managers) posted someone out front to keep an eye on who’s coming into the building.”

Don Curly, who lives a short distance away from the Peters’ home was trying to drive home at about noon when police stopped him. His wife was at home, but he was told he would be arrested if he tried to get to his house.

“All I want to do is go home,” Curly said. At one point, state police used an armored vehicle to evacuate four to six neighbors.

At 2 p.m., officers from the Maine State Police tactical team began speaking with the suspect through the P.A. system. At about 3 p.m., police fired the first explosive device into the home to distract the suspect.

By then, normal activity on much of Minot Avenue had ground to a halt. Rumors swirled as more police and media arrived in the area.

“First I heard a husband cut his wife’s head off, then it was a son shooting his mother in the head,” said Nichole Gardner of Livermore.

In the store, the phone rang off the hook with callers who figured clerks there would have information. Many were calling to ask about one early rumor: that the Minot County Store owner had been shot. He had not.

Long after nightfall, the police checkpoint on Minot Avenue remained clogged with reporters, photographers and police officers. Chantelle Withee came out with her husband, Chris, to see if there were updates to the drama unfolding just down the road.

“We heard the gunshots earlier,” Chantelle said. “Now that night has come, I’m getting kind of nervous. I’d like to have this over with real soon.”