The 25-year-old Aroostook County man who was charged with shooting two people with a shotgun in Duxbury, Massachusetts, had not taken his medication to treat schizophrenia in over two weeks, and had a prior temporary arrest warrant issued in Maine for an incident with his parents that also involved a shotgun.

Massachusetts officials said Lucas McPherson of Mapleton injured two people and damaged a vehicle belonging to a third person early Sunday. A judge in Plymouth District Court on Monday ordered that McPherson undergo a psychological evaluation to determine if he is competent to face 15 charges in the random crime spree, and that he be held without bail at Bridgewater State Hospital. He is due back in court May 13 for a competency hearing.

McPherson is alleged to have shot two people in Duxbury from his vehicle with a 20-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot.

The first victim, a 33-year-old man from Marshfield, was struck by a shotgun blast about 1:15 a.m. Sunday as he drove near Duxbury Town Hall, according to multiple police reports filed in Massachusetts court in support of the charges. The shot came from a passing motorist and passed through his car door. The victim drove himself to a nearby fire station when he realized he had been shot.

Police were already notified and on the lookout for McPherson when he allegedly shot another person. This time, the victim was standing outside his home walking his dog.

Police arrived shortly after the second man was shot, and an officer heard him cry out: “What happened? What happened? I think I got shot!” according to a police report.

As officers talked with the victim, McPherson tried to flee in his car, but police confronted him. McPherson got out of the vehicle and approached an officer with a hunting knife, but he was Tasered twice and taken into custody.

McPherson has a criminal record in Maine, according to the State Bureau of Identification. In 2012, he was charged with operating under the influence in Presque Isle and served 48 hours in jail and paid a $500 fine.

In the Duxbury case, he is charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; three counts of attempted murder; two counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle; two counts of assault and battery on a police officer; and one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and carrying a firearm without a license.

Once in custody, McPherson called his father, David McPherson, who told police that his son is schizophrenic and had been off his medication for more than two weeks. He said his son had left Maine in an attempt to drive across the country.

McPherson’s parents had been trying to get him to return to Maine so he could resume treatment for his mental illness, according to the police reports.

During the booking and incarceration process, McPherson also attacked a police officer, punching him in the face.

McPherson broke the officer’s glasses, but the officer has returned to work and was not seriously injured.

Both shooting victims were treated for non life-threatening injuries at a hospital in Plymouth.

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

mbyrne@pressherald.com

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