MADISON, Maine -- Police in Maine say a gunman killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by deputies.

State police say the shootings happened Wednesday morning in the town of Madison. CBS affiliate WGME reports the shootings were reported at several locations along the same road the runs behind the Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

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.

But a selectwoman in neighboring Skowhegan, Darla Pickett, said her daughter was one of the three victims, the Morning Sentinel reported. The condition of the survivor was unknown.

Deputies responding to an emergency call at 7:37 a.m. uncovered a grisly scene with 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 investigation was focusing on a home where a neighbor said there had been a party and fireworks the night before, on the Fourth of July. Police remained at the site on Wednesday, said neighbor Wayne Parlin, whose driveway was blocked by investigators.

A briefing was expected Wednesday afternoon.

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

The attorney general's office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff's deputies.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed his girlfriend and a 3-year-old girl's parents before taking his own life in Oakland. The 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of that rampage.</s>State police in Madison, Maine, have closed the country road Wednesday, July 5, 2017, where a series of Wednesday shootings left three victims dead and one injured. (AP)

MADISON: A gunman killed three people and wounded a fourth today before being fatally shot by deputies, authorities said.

It was Maine's deadliest shooting since 2015.

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

The condition of the wounded person wasn't immediately clear. Police also didn't immediately release the identities of the gunman or victims and declined to further discuss the investigation.

The investigation was focusing on a home where a neighbour said there had been a party and fireworks the night before, on the Fourth of July. Police remained at the site Wednesday afternoon, said neighbor Wayne Parlin, whose driveway was blocked by investigators.

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

The attorney general's office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff's deputies.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of a rampage in the town of Oakland in which a gunman killed his girlfriend and the youngster's parents before taking his own life.</s>MADISON, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine say a gunman killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by deputies.

State police say the shootings happened Wednesday morning in the town of Madison.

State police spokesman Steve McCausland says the gunman was then fatally shot by Somerset County deputies.

In addition to the three dead, a fourth person was wounded.

No further details were available.

The attorney general’s office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff’s deputies.</s>MADISON, Maine — The Latest on the fatal shootings of three people in Madison, Maine (all times local):

Maine state police say they don’t know what drove a man to kill three people and wound another before being fatally shot in a confrontation with officers.

Spokesman Steve McCausland says detectives are trying to determine what sparked the violence Wednesday morning in the town of Madison.

The spokesman says 51-year-old gunman Carroll Tuttle killed his partner, 52-year-old Lori Hayden, and their son, 25-year-old Dustin Tuttle, at their home. The third victim was 57-year-old Michael Spaulding, who was killed at a nearby residence.

McCausland says the gunman returned to the original location and wounded a fourth person before being shot and killed in a confrontation with deputies.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed three people before taking his own life in Oakland.

A Skowhegan selectwoman says her daughter was one of the three people shot to death in Madison, Maine.

Selectwoman Darla Pickett tells the Morning Sentinel that her daughter, Lori, was one of the victims. Somerset County deputies later killed the gunman.

Police have not formally released names, and Pickett declined to speak to The Associated Press.

Police say the shootings happened at a couple of locations along a country road that runs behind the Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed three people before taking his own life in Oakland.

An investigation into the fatal shootings of three people in Maine is focusing on a home where a neighbour says there had been a party and fireworks the night before.

Wayne Parlin said the Fourth of July gathering had taken place at a trailer home across the street in the town of Madison.

Police say a gunman killed three people and injured a fourth before being fatally shot by Somerset County deputies Wednesday morning. A 911 call was made around 7:30 a.m.

Police say the shootings happened at a couple of locations along a country road that runs behind the Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed three people before taking his own life in Oakland.

Police in Maine say a gunman killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by deputies.

State police say the shootings happened Wednesday morning in the town of Madison.

State police spokesman Steve McCausland says the gunman was then fatally shot by Somerset County deputies.

In addition to the three dead, a fourth person was wounded.

No further details were available.

The attorney general’s office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff’s deputies.</s>MADISON, Maine — The Latest on the shootings in Madison, Maine(all times local):

An investigation into the fatal shootings of three people in Maine is focusing on a home where a neighbour says there had been a party and fireworks the night before.

Wayne Parlin said the Fourth of July gathering had taken place at a trailer home across the street in the town of Madison.

Police say a gunman killed three people and injured a fourth before being fatally shot by Somerset County deputies Wednesday morning. A 911 call was made around 7:30 a.m.

Police say the shootings happened at a couple of locations along a country road that runs behind the Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed three people before taking his own life in Oakland.

Police in Maine say a gunman killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by deputies.

State police say the shootings happened Wednesday morning in the town of Madison.

State police spokesman Steve McCausland says the gunman was then fatally shot by Somerset County deputies.

In addition to the three dead, a fourth person was wounded.

No further details were available.

The attorney general’s office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff’s deputies.</s>A gunman in Maine killed three people and wounded a fourth Wednesday morning before being fatally shot by deputies.

None of the victims have been officially identified by police in the shooting spree in the small town of Madison, but a mother to one of the victims is speaking out.

Skowhegan Selectwoman Darla Pickett said her daughter Lori was killed in the multiple victim shootings.

'I only know my child is gone,' Pickett, a former Morning Sentinel reporter, said in a brief phone call Wednesday afternoon. 'I'm just broken hearted right now I can't … talk. I just can't talk. I'm sorry.'

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

The condition of the wounded person wasn't immediately clear. Police also didn't immediately release the identities of the gunman or victims and declined to further discuss the investigation.

The investigation was focusing on a home where a neighbor said there had been a party and fireworks the night before, on the Fourth of July. Police remained at the site Wednesday afternoon, said neighbor Wayne Parlin, whose driveway was blocked by investigators.

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

The attorney general's office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff's deputies.

It is the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of a rampage in the town of Oakland in which a gunman killed his girlfriend and the youngster's parents before taking his own life.

A fifth person was taken to a hospital, McCausland said. 'He is still alive — I don't have any update on condition,' before adding 'the gunman was shot and killed — there is no danger to the public.'

No victims' names have officially been released yet by authorities, nor have they identified the alleged gunman. No police were injured, according to a news release from the state police.

Maine State Police said that Somerset County Sheriff's Office deputies confronted a suspected gunman Wednesday morning near the scene of the shootings, where he was fatally shot.

'The state police, the Somerset Sheriff's Department and the Attorney General's office is investigating this multi-scene incident that we have in Madison,' McCausland told reporters in a briefing at the Skowhegan/Madison town line.

'There are a number of different scenes,' he said. 'Russell Road will be closed throughout the day as investigators start trying to find out essentially what sparked this violence. Our task now is to find out exactly what happened and why. There's a number of different scenes to content with.'

McCausland said it is rare and 'very, very serious incident'. Investigations will be on scene all day and into the night.'

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said via email that his deputies responded to the reported shooting and there 'was a police-involved shooting, with one male individual deceased.'

In a statement later Wednesday morning, Lancaster said the deputies who arrived on scene 'discovered that three people had been shot to death at different locations along the Russell Road in Madison.'

'The alleged shooter returned and shot and wounded a fourth individual,' Lancaster said in the statement. 'Deputies confronted the gunman and the gunman was shot and killed.'

Lancaster said authorities would not yet release the names of the deputies involved in the shooting.

State police detectives are investigating the shootings with the sheriff's office. The Attorney General's Office has sent a group to investigate the scene and review the shots fired by the deputies, according to the release.

The 911 call was reported as a homicide in the Somerset County dispatch logs and was reported at 7:37 a.m. Wednesday.

The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit truck left the scene at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Kim Morse, of Embden, was stopped on Russell Road by state police as they blocked the road in both directions.

Morse said Wednesday morning that she travels that way all the time.

'I know people on this road. I don't want it to be anybody I know — I don't want it to be anyone but nobody I know,' Morse said. 'It's shocking. This is a small town.'

Near the Russell Road blockade, Reginal Woodman sat on the rear bumper of his Toyota pickup truck in the shade of a tree in his yard, watching all the traffic turning in his driveway.

'Ain't much I can do about it,' he said. 'Don't want any more excitement.'</s>US gunman kills 3 in separate attacks in Maine

A gunman in US state of Maine killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by police, the deadliest shooting in the state since 2015, PressTV reported.

The shootings happened on Wednesday at several places along a rural road about 4 miles (6 km) from the center of town in Madison, according to Maine State Police.

Somerset County Sheriff’s Office deputies shot the gunman to end the rampage, said Steve McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety.

In addition to the three dead, a fourth person was wounded. The condition of the wounded person wasn’t immediately clear.

According to Gun Violence Archive, nearly 8,000 people have been killed and over 15,000 more injured in more than 31,000 gun-related incidents across the US this year.

Numerous studies have found that gun ownership is directly associated with gun-related homicides, and homicide by gun is the most common type of homicide in the United States.

Firearm assaults were 6.8 times more common in US states with the most guns versus states with the least, according to a recent study by researchers at Harvard University.

About 29 percent of Americans own one or more of the estimated 300 million firearms in private hands in the United States, according to Columbia University researchers.</s>A gunman killed three people and wounded a fourth in a series of shootings early Wednesday along a country road in Maine before he was shot dead by responding deputies, officials said.

Maine State Police said the shootings took place around 7:30 a.m. on Russell Road in Madison, about 40 miles north of Augusta. Somerset County Deputies arriving at the scene confronted the gunman before he was shot and killed. No police officers were injured in the rampage, according to state police.

"There are a number of different scenes," Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland told reporters.

Deputies responding to an emergency call uncovered a grisly scene with three victims at different locations along the road, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster told the Associated Press.

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 investigation was focusing on a home where a neighbor said there had been a party and fireworks the night before, on the Fourth of July. Police remained at the site neighbor Wayne Parlin told the AP, whose driveway was blocked by investigators.

Authorities did not immediately identify the gunman or the victims, and were expected to provide a briefing later Wednesday.

A selectwoman in neighboring Skowhegan, Darla Pickett, told the Morning Sentinel newspaper her daughter, Lori Pickett, was one of the three victims.

“I only know my child is gone,” Pickett told the newspaper. “I’m just broken hearted right now I can’t … talk. I just can’t talk. I’m sorry.”

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

The attorney general's office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff's deputies, FOX 23 reported.

The rampage was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed his girlfriend and a 3-year-old girl's parents before taking his own life in Oakland. The 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of that rampage.

Read more from The Morning Sentinel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Three people were killed and a fourth wounded on Wednesday in a series of shootings in central Maine, according to State Police, who said that officers shot and killed the suspected gunman.

The shootings occurred around 7:30 a.m. EDT in Madison, a town about 90 miles north of Portland, according to Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland.

No other details were immediately available.</s>(AP Photo/Marina Villeneuve). State police in Madison, Maine, have closed the country road Wednesday, July 5, 2017, where a series of Wednesday shootings left three victims dead and one injured. A gunman killed multiple people and wounded another Wedne...

MADISON, Maine (AP) - A gunman shot and killed his partner, their adult son and a neighbor and wounded a fourth person before being fatally shot by deputies early Wednesday, leaving detectives at a loss to explain the outburst of violence, an official said.

Three deputies ended the rampage by shooting 51-year-old Carroll Tuttle in a confrontation in his driveway, said Steve McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Detectives are now focused on determining what sparked "an extreme case of domestic violence," McCausland said.

"Our role now is to investigate exactly what happened and what set this gunman off," he said. "We don't have that answer. We hope to get it."

The shootings unfolded just hours after a neighbor said there had been a party with Fourth of July fireworks.

Deputies responding to an emergency call discovered the bodies and were present when Tuttle returned with a handgun, McCausland said.

Tuttle had killed his partner, 52-year-old Lori Hayden, and their son, 25-year-old Dustin Tuttle, at their home before killing a neighbor, 57-year-old Michael Spaulding, at his home a short distance away, McCausland said.

The gunman returned to the original location and wounded another relative before being shot and killed by deputies.

The attorney general's office sent investigators to the scene to review the use of deadly force by sheriff's deputies.

But Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster stood behind the actions of his law enforcement officers to end the shooting.

"I have total confidence in the performance of my deputies," he said.

The couple lived in a trailer, and there also was a camper where other family members were living on the property, said a neighbor, Wayne Parlin. There had been a party on the Fourth of July with fireworks on the property, he said.

Lori Hayden was the daughter of Skowhegan selectwoman Darla Pickett and the sister of Skowhegan's finance and human resources director, Trisha Austin, the Morning Sentinel newspaper reported. Both declined to speak to The Associated Press.

The injured man, 57-year-old Harvey Austin, was a relative of Hayden's. He was undergoing surgery at a hospital in Bangor, McCausland said.

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

It was the deadliest shooting in Maine since November 2015, when a gunman killed his girlfriend and a 3-year-old girl's parents before taking his own life in Oakland. The 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of that rampage.

Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland contributed to this report.

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Three people are shot and killed by a gunman in separate incidents in Madison, Maine. A fourth victim is wounded. Sheriffs deputies then shot and killed the suspect.