Two people were found dead Monday night in a parking lot near the intersection of Main Street and Bridge Street in Westbrook. John Terhune/Staff Writer
A South Portland man accused of fatally shooting a Westbrook couple in front of their two children in downtown Westbrook Monday night has been charged with two counts of murder.
Marcel Lagrange Jr., 24. Courtesy Cumberland County Jail
A group of bystanders tackled and disarmed Marcel Lagrange Jr., 24, moments after Brittney Cockrell, 37, and Michael Hayter, 41, were shot and killed in a parking lot at the intersection of Main Street and Bridge Street, the Maine State Police said.
The couple’s 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter witnessed the shootings.
Police said there is no known connection between Lagrange and the victims.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots just before 8:30 p.m. and witnessed Lagrange shoot Cockrell near a parked car with both children inside. Hayter, who police say was dead when first responders arrived, was in the car.
Lagrange then ran down Main Street and assaulted 75-year-old Fred Roukey, police said. Several bystanders tackled and disarmed Lagrange before police arrested him.
Roukey suffered minor injuries and was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for treatment.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy Tuesday morning to determine the identity of the victims, confirm the cause of death as gunshot wounds, and rule the shootings to be homicides.
Lagrange has an extensive criminal record dating to 2018 that includes convictions for assault, criminal threatening, violating conditions of release and refusing to submit to detention, according to Maine State Bureau of Identification records.
Lagrange is being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail. He will be arraigned in Cumberland County Superior Court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
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