Man, child dead after shooting that closed the Piscataqua River Bridge
Piscataqua River Bridge, which connects Maine and NH, shut down due to ‘incident'
The Piscataqua River Bridge on Interstate 95, connecting Maine and New Hampshire, was shut down in both directions Thursday morning due to an active police incident.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office confirmed that around 7 a.m., police fatally shot a man on the bridge. The man was wanted in connection with the murder of a woman in Troy, New Hampshire. Investigators also discovered an 8-year-old child shot to death inside the man’s vehicle. No names have been released.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office is now investigating the officer-involved shooting.
The incident occurred about 95 miles from Troy, New Hampshire. Drivers in the area between the New Hampshire line and Exit 7 are experiencing heavy traffic. York Police advised motorists to use Route 1 to enter New Hampshire, but by 6:30 a.m., significant backups had developed on Route 1 in Kittery, with traffic stalled south of the Exit 2 ramp on the Turnpike as drivers sought alternative routes across the other bridges between Maine and New Hampshire.
By 7 a.m., traffic was slow over both alternate bridges and backed up all the way to the Portsmouth traffic circle in New Hampshire, where conditions remained congested.
An alert about the situation was received by Maine’s Total Coverage newsroom just before 2:50 a.m. Thursday. New Hampshire State Police confirmed the details with WMUR, WMTW’s sister station.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible. For several hours, traffic was detoured off at Exit 2, and vehicles were turned around past that point to exit the Turnpike. Shortly after 7 a.m., the Maine Turnpike Authority announced that the southbound onramp at Exit 7 in York was also closed. Maine State Police have not yet determined how long the closures will last.
With heavy congestion and slow-moving traffic reported, York Police continue to recommend using Route 1 as an alternate route, though drivers should expect significant delays extending to the Portsmouth traffic circle in New Hampshire.
