Maine deputies slay man who killed three

MADISON, Maine — A gunman killed three people and wounded a fourth early Wednesday before he was fatally shot by deputies, authorities said.

The shootings happened along a country road that runs behind the Skowhegan Fairgrounds, and Somerset County deputies ended the rampage by killing the gunman, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said.

Police didn’t immediately release the identities of the gunman or the victims and declined to further discuss the investigation.

Deputies responded to an emergency call at 7:37 a.m. to find three victims at different locations along a road, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said.

The gunman left the scene after killing the three people but returned and shot the fourth person while deputies were in the area, and the deputies then fatally shot him, Lancaster said.

The shootings happened about 4 miles from the center of town in Madison, a town of about 4,800 residents in central Maine.