A man was shot by law enforcement after escaping police custody in Paris, Maine, on Monday, according to authorities.
Several roads in the area of Route 117 were closed around noon Monday due to the situation. Area residents were told to stay inside their homes.
The suspect was shot by law enforcement and taken to a nearby medical facility for treatement, the Oxford County Sheriff's Office told News Center Maine. The suspect has been identified as 37-year-old Gary Porter, who is homeless, according to Maine State Police.
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"This is an isolated incident and there are no safety concerns for the public," Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright said in a statement.
According to state police, the situation began at 7:18 a.m. Monday when Paris police responded to a report of a suspicious man. They identified the man as Porter, and arrested him on an outstanding theft warrant. He was taken to Stephen's Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released for conditions unrelated to the arrest.
Paris Police Chief Mike Dailey then took Porter to the Oxford County Jail, but while trying to remove him from his cruiser at the jail, Porter was able to slip his handcuffs from back to front and move to the driver's seat and steal Dailey's vehicle. Dailey was thrown from the moving vehicle while attempting to stop Porter.
Police from numerous area departments, the Cumberland and Oxford sheriff's departments, state police and the fire marshal's office responded and gave pursuit. Porter ultimately crashed the cruiser on Route 117 in Paris. Officers confronted Porter and gunfire was exchanged. Porter was hit but fled and stole an Oxford County Sheriff's police vehicle, which he crashed a short distance up the road.
Porter was taken into custody and treated at a local hospital. Once he was released, he was taken to Oxford County Jail and charged with two counts of theft, assault on a police officer, escape, eluding and violation of bail.
Porter was dressed in white, possibly in a hospital robe, when he fled from a vehicle that had crashed in a ditch, said Linda Marie Mercer, who encountered police vehicles blocking the road and began filming the scene with her cellphone.
Mercer said there were two volleys of gunfire — one when the suspect was inside the vehicle, and again when he drove away.
“The door of the truck was open most of the time. You could see him. They kept telling him to put his hands up,” she said. “Then all of a sudden, he stands up, runs right out of the ditch, and climbs right into the police vehicle.”
Mercer, a mobile notary public, said she continued to an appointment after the incident. “It was my most interesting excuse for being late, but I had video proof," she said.
The police shooting is being investigated by the Maine Attorney General's Office and state police are conducting a criminal investigation.
Paris, a town of only about 5,100 residents, is located in Oxford County, just outside of the Lewiston-Auburn area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
