Police fatally shoot man on New Hampshire-Maine bridge along I-95; child, 8, found dead in vehicle

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A man connected to a homicide in New Hampshire was fatally shot by police on a bridge that connects the state to Maine. An 8-year-old child was found shot to death in the man’s car, the attorney general’s office said Thursday.

The Piscataqua River Bridge along Interstate 95 has been closed since about 3 a.m. and traffic was backed up on both sides as drivers were diverted to two other bridges. The Piscataqua bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine.

The incident appears to have started with a man killing a woman at a home overnight in Troy, New Hampshire, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in the western part of the state, and then driving to the bridge, Attorney General John Formella said in a news release.

“Early this morning police engaged with the adult male on the bridge in an incident that ended with the male being fatally shot. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is now investigating that officer-involved shooting incident,” the news release said.

“Police on the bridge also found an 8-year-old child fatally shot” in the man’s vehicle, the news release said. “The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain under active investigation.”

There was no threat to the public and the bridge remained closed in both directions because of the investigation, the news release said.

No names have been released.

Between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the Piscataqua bridge each day, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.

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Associated Press reporters David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.