Man Arrested After Shooting Spree in Maine Confesses to Killing His Parents and Their Friends

A 34-year-old man killed his parents and their friends before injuring three others during two incidents in Maine on Tuesday.

The Maine State Police announced in a press release that the tragedy occurred just days after Joseph Eaton, who was charged with four counts of murder and is being held without bail at the Two Bridges Regional Jail, was released from the Windham Correctional Facility.

Eaton had served a sentence for aggravated assault and was met by his mother, Cynthia Eaton, after his release on April 14, police explain.

Cynthia, 62; along with Patricia Eger, 72, and her husband Robert Eger, 62, who Eaton was staying with after his prison release, were three of the individuals who were killed on Tuesday morning. The fourth individual who is deceased has been identified as Eaton's father, 66-year-old David Eaton.

According to the state police department, autopsies conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Office determined all four died of gunshot wounds, and all were ruled as homicides.

Their bodies were discovered after a family member who had not been able to reach anyone drove to the home to try and make contact. The unidentified family member went inside the house, police say, and found one deceased body before officers arrived at the scene and found the three other victims.

Eaton was found in a wooded area after police from Yarmouth, Falmouth, and Cumberland Police Departments responded to Interstate 295 to support State Troopers "with multiple people and vehicles being hit by gunfire," the Maine State Police explain in their release.

Eaton confessed to being behind the incident, telling officers that he shot the vehicles because he believed they were police vehicles that were following.

The incident left 51-year-old Sean Halsey and his two children, 29-year-old Justin Halsey and 25-year-old Paige Halsey, with gunshot wounds. Sean and Justin received non-life-threatening injuries, and Paige remains in critical condition, police announced in their release.

The Bangor Daily News reports that Eaton's criminal record dates back to 2013.

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According to the outlet, Eaton had been charged with 15 crimes before Tuesday's incident, including aggravated assault and simple assault convictions. A felony assault conviction led him to serve an eight-month sentence in March 2022. It is unclear whether he has representation at this time.

A day before the incidents, Eaton took to Facebook to pen a post about "suffering."

"Life as a whole is suffering," he wrote. "You work for the duration, you get sick, people you love die, and your guaranteed to have "bad days." You die and lose everything you spent your life obtaining. There is more to it than meets the eye. Life is a trial for what is to come."

He then went on Facebook Live to talk about forgiveness and shared in the video's description, "Cynthia Robinson Eaton I'm scared to death about what people will say about this. It's opened my story. Thanks for never giving up on me I love u."