Maine Lockdown Shooting

Students are released from school, under watch by local police, outside Thornton Academy following police activity in the area on Friday. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Saco police are still searching for three men who they say fled the scene of a car crash and shooting on Friday afternoon.

Authorities ask anyone with information regarding the suspects, the shooting or the vehicle crash to please contact the Saco Police Department at 207-284-4535. Saco Police Department photo

A statement from the department late Monday morning provided few new details about the manhunt, which began Friday after a gray Honda SUV ran a red light at the intersection of North and Elm streets and crashed into another vehicle just before noon.

Saco police said that three occupants of the SUV – not four, as investigators initially believed – leapt out of the vehicle and ran from the scene. A fourth person seen running from the area was uninvolved, police said Monday.

Shortly before the crash, the suspects in the SUV fired gunshots at a red Dodge Charger near the intersection of Elm and Temple streets, according to the police. Footage taken by a bystander just after the crash and shared on social media shows the Dodge driven through the intersection as someone runs from the SUV.

Deputy Chief Corey Huntress said Monday that police aren’t sure how many people were inside the Dodge or whether they were also shooting. He refused to answer questions about whether police have identified any of the suspects and what led to the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation.

Police said they are continuing to investigate another dark SUV with tinted windows that was captured on video about a quarter mile from the crash site. The video, which was circulated on social media over the weekend, shows the SUV drive down Scammon Street Extension a few seconds before three men, who match photos of the suspects released by police, run down the street in the same direction. About 20 seconds after the men leave the frame, the SUV comes back into view driving in the opposite direction.

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Huntress said Friday that police have identified the vehicle and that the public does not need to be on the lookout for it or submit tips about the identify of the owner.

“We’re not looking for people to become vigilantes,” he said.

Police appeared to focus on a Scammon Street Extension home during the first hours of their search on Friday. One officer had a long gun pointed at the building.

A large police presence on Scammon Street Extension in Saco following reports of a shooting on Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Andrew Gaines, who owns the house, said Friday that he came home around 2 p.m. to find officers surrounding his property and a large armored vehicle parked in his driveway. He said police told him that they found blood on his shed and leading into the house. By 3:30 p.m., police said officers had cleared his shed and were preparing to use a drone to search inside the house.

Huntress reiterated on Monday that police have no reason to believe the suspects are still in the area of downtown Saco. An initial shelter-in-place order and lockdown of nearby schools was lifted Friday night.

Saco police asked anyone with information about the men, the shooting or the crash to contact police at SacoPD@sacomaine.org or by calling 207-284-4535.

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