A gunshot caused about $30,000 in damage to a fiber-optic cable near Gorham Industrial Park near New Portland Road, police said Tuesday.

The damage was reported to police Monday morning after Comcast Maine, which owns the cable, received complaints of an Internet outage, said Gorham Police Lt. Christopher Sanborn.

Crews repaired the cable, but at considerable expense, he said.

“Obviously, we’re taking this pretty seriously,” Sanborn said.

While Gorham’s downtown has a firearm ordinance that restricts the area to shotgun hunting only, the area near the industrial park is not covered by the ordinance, Sanborn said.

There are also wooded areas nearby where people sometimes go to shoot, Sanborn said. As long as people shooting have permission to be on the property, the practice is legal, he said.

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Police are not sure whether the damage was accidental or intentional.

“Clearly, it’s illegal to shoot someone else’s property,” Sanborn said.

Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:

mbyrne@pressherald.com

Twitter: MattByrnePPH


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