MEXICO — A man suspected of stealing a pickup truck was dead after a standoff with police Sunday.
Shots were fired in the standoff, which began after a pickup was stolen in Paris earlier Sunday. State police tactical team members confirmed late Sunday that the man was found dead inside the vehicle outside the Circle K store on Main Street.
Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said the man had exchanged gunfire with a state trooper and a Mexico police officer.
Police said the dead man’s name would be announced Monday.
No police officers were injured.
Heather Mae Conley lives near the scene of the standoff. She rushed outside when she heard what was going on. In a Facebook post, she said it was “scary hearing bullets tinging off stuff, coming in our direction.”
At one point, she saw the suspect and police in a shootout.
“We ran outside, saw him shooting at the cops. And as the cops shot back, we ran back inside and hit the floor,” she posted on Facebook.
Because police were involved in the shooting, the Attorney General’s Office will investigate, McCausland said.
The standoff at the Circle K convenience store went on for hours. The incident began in the afternoon when a vehicle was reported stolen and a chase ensued, police said.
Officers from Rumford, Mexico, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department and the Maine State Police were at the scene, according to McCausland.
One witness said he heard 10 gunshots. That could not immediately be confirmed.
Several police cars were on the scene, including at least three Maine State Police vehicles.
Authorities would not allow spectators to get near the standoff scene and warned people to stay back.
Bystanders were not allowed to get closer than the Dick’s Restaurant parking lot.
Firefighters reportedly were on the scene because the suspect had rammed gas pumps at the Circle K at the beginning of the standoff.
People in nearby apartment houses were being told to stay inside.
“I am thankful no bullets went through our house,” Conley posted. “We could hear them tinging off stuff.”
Staff writers Terry Karkos and Douglas McIntire contributed to this report.
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- Rumford firefighters wait near the scene of a standoff in Mexico in case they are needed. They are standing on Route 2 by Dick’s Restaurant in Mexico.
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- Rumford firefighters wait near the scene of a standoff in Mexico in case they are needed. They are standing on Route 2 by Dick’s Restaurant in Mexico.
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- A pickup truck has bullet holes in its windshield after Sunday’s standoff in Mexico.
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