Portland police have yet to identify a suspect in the killing of David Anderson late Tuesday night in an apartment on Gilman Street, continuing the investigation for a second full day Thursday.

Investigators are asking for help from anyone who might recognize the light-skinned man who appears in surveillance camera images taken in the apartment building at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday, minutes before police were notified of the shooting.

“We’re working very hard to identify suspects, but it’s a very long and arduous process,” said police Lt. James Sweatt.

Sweatt said a dozen detectives worked nearly all day Wednesday, some for nearly 24 hours straight, interviewing people and gathering information. Meanwhile, three crime scene analysts gathered evidence in Apartment 305 at 88 Gilman St., a building owned by Shalom House, a nonprofit based on Gilman Street that serves adults with mental illness.

Sweatt said most of the detectives returned to the investigation Thursday in shifts after getting some rest, and crime scene analysts resumed searching the apartment for other clues.

Anderson, 36, and a man whom police have yet to identify were shot while visiting a man who lives in Apartment 305. The second man who was shot was treated and released from a hospital and has returned to his home.

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The man who lives in Apartment 305 has been temporarily moved by police to stay with a relative in another town, which Sweatt declined to specify.

“We can’t exclude anyone who was there from being a target or a peripheral victim,” Sweatt said.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office completed an autopsy on Anderson on Thursday, said Timothy Feeley, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. He would not say how many times Anderson was shot, where on his body he was hit, what type of weapon was used or from how far away the gun was fired.

Police have said that the man in the surveillance images got into the apartment building even though it is a secure facility. They have also said that the man’s visit was not random and that he was there with a violent intent.

Sweatt said Thursday that nothing was stolen from the apartment. He would not say whether any of the people involved argued before the shooting or what the motive might have been.

There were no police vehicles outside the building late Thursday afternoon. The building is just off Congress Street, between the Maine Medical Center campus and Hadlock Field.

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Anderson, a transient who went by the nickname “Shycago,” had a criminal record dating to 1997, including a felony burglary charge and several minor drug and theft charges. His most recent offenses were mostly drug-related, according to records at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland.

Anderson was released from jail most recently on Feb. 5 after serving 20 days for a probation violation on a felony charge of possession of cocaine. His probation officer filed another request with the court on March 1, asking for Anderson’s probation to be revoked for new violations.

Anyone who saw the shooting or has information about it is asked to call Portland police at 874-8533 or 874-8575.

 


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