Maine man fired randomly on busy highway after killing 4; investigation underway

A Maine man killed four people in a home and n shot three ors randomly on a busy highway, state police said, latest in a string of mass shootings across country that have shaken communities large and small.

shootings in Maine began in small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. n a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot re, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.

"This is an active investigation with a lot of moving parts," Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday.

gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in highway shootings, she said. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance.

names of victims were not released, and state police didn't discuss any possible motive. four bodies were taken to state medical examiner's office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.

seven people shot Tuesday were latest victims of mass shootings in U.S., whose targets included a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee ; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky , and a Sweet Sixteen party in a small city in Alabama.

In Bowdoin, yellow crime tape hung where shootings took place in a home flanked by woods at end of a long, gravel driveway. Detectives and evidence technicians remained in home collecting evidence late Tuesday, long after hearses left driveway.

At one point, a woman spoke to police outside house, n dropped to her knees and sobbed.

In Yarmouth on Wednesday, traffic flowed normally on Interstate 295, where a day before three people were shot in cars and gunman was apprehended.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills tweeted her concern for “families, friends and loved ones of those impacted by this tragedy.” She said she was praying for injured.

“Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply sdened. Acts of violence like we experienced today shake our state and our communities to core,” she said.