CNN
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A 34-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night in connection with the killings of four people found dead earlier in the day in a home in Bowdoin, Maine, authorities said.
The killings appear to be linked to a series of shootings on a nearby highway that left three drivers injured — one critically — shortly after the four bodies were found, state police said.
The arrested man was identified by Maine State Police as Joseph Eaton.
Eaton was taken to the Two Bridges Regional Jail and will make his first court appearance later this week, state police said in a news release Tuesday night. Authorities said Wednesday that Eaton is currently charged only with the murders.
CNN has not yet been able to identify Eaton’s attorney.
“Investigators will work through the night to process multiple scenes and continue to interview those involved in this incident,” state police said in the news release.
Police have not shared details about a possible motive for either incident and have not shared details about the four people found dead in the home.
In A declaration On Twitter, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said, “Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened: acts of violence like those we experienced today shake our state and our communities to their very core.”
Maine State Police responded to Bowdoin’s home Tuesday morning, where they found all four victims dead inside, state police Lt. Randall Keaten said at a news conference earlier Tuesday.
Shortly after, authorities received reports that several vehicles had been hit by gunfire on I-295 in the Yarmouth area, about 40 minutes from Bowdoin.
Three people were shot while driving and taken to hospitals, state police said. At least one of them was in critical condition Tuesday, authorities added.
“We have vehicles that have been hit by direct fire all over the place and we are getting reports of that, so if anyone has holes in their vehicle, please contact us so we can follow up,” Keaten said.
The victims found in the Bowdoin home and the highway shootings are connected, Keaten said, adding that there is no threat to the public.
All four bodies were taken to the chief medical examiner’s office in Augusta, where autopsies will determine the manner and cause of death, state police said.
Authorities have asked anyone who may have witnessed anything or has information about Tuesday morning’s incidents to contact them.
“A lot of things happened this morning between those two scenes and those are the people we want to talk to, the people who were impacted by this,” Keaten said, adding that authorities were continuing to work multiple scenes and gather more information.
