Auburn police respond Monday afternoon to an armed incident in the area of Gillander Avenue. Local and state police were at the scene of the apparent standoff Monday evening. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AUBURN — Local and Maine State Police tactical teams and negotiators remained at the scene of a standoff Tuesday morning, nearly 12 hours after responding to an armed incident on Gillander Avenue.
A man walks down Gamage Avenue on Monday afternoon in Auburn after police shut down a section of the street for an apparent armed standoff. He said he was visiting his massage therapist on Gillander Avenue when they heard what they thought was a gunshot. “The cops came and surrounded the place. After a while I couldn’t just stand around. I’m leaving for Florida tomorrow for a two-week fishing trip and have a lot of stuff to do so I hopped the fence in her backyard and walked down the street where I have people coming to pick me up,” he said. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
At about 1 a.m., neighbors reported that they could still hear police negotiators over loudspeakers as they sought to speak with the man inside the home. The man, believed to be a local resident in his late 40s, was advised to come out of the house with his hands in the air, but by 1:30 a.m., the standoff was continuing.
Several residents who live in the area were unable to return home and were staying in hotels or with relatives Monday night. Others who live nearby, meanwhile, had spent a tense day of laying low in their homes and awaiting updates from police.
It was believed that at least one shot had been fired at the start of the standoff.
Residents within a mile radius of the incident were instructed by phone at 3 p.m. to stay in their homes, and affected neighbors were eventually evacuated from their homes.
“The Auburn Police Department is currently working on a call in the area of Gillander Avenue,” the alert said. “At this time, please shelter in place and wait for further instructions.”
Gillander Avenue is a dead end off Gamage Avenue, which was closed from from Grandview Avenue to Park Street.
An Auburn police officer takes up a position Monday afternoon during a standoff on Gillander Avenue in Auburn. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
At 4:24 p.m. Auburn police posted an update on the department’s Facebook page alerting the public they were “on scene of an armed incident,” affected neighbors were evacuated from their homes while others were instructed to continue to shelter in place.
The post also noted road closures were expanded to a section of Park Avenue, from Lake Street to Summer Street.
Shannon Moss, public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety, confirmed state police were at the scene and said further information would come from Auburn police.
The exact address and whether there were injuries were unknown.
Mark Cameron, a resident near the intersection of Woodlawn and Gamage avenues, said the neighborhood he grew up in is relatively quiet so the incident is a surprise. He said an Auburn police officer lives nearby on Gamage Avenue and another on Woodlawn Avenue, so there is an added sense of security.
“It’s so weird … There’s really no riffraff out here. It’s very chill and when there is something weird, it sticks out quite a bit,” Cameron said. “But, no, nothing ever happens up here.”
A man and a woman talk to police Monday afternoon after being escorted through the backyards of homes on Gillander Avenue after an apparent armed standoff. The two were taken to a safe place on Gamage Avenue. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
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