Gunman kills motorcyclist on the road, Maine cops say. Then gunman’s body found
.JPG "Maine State Police say they are investigating a fatal shooting in Windham.")
An armed driver pulled up next to a 33-year-old motorcyclist at an intersection in Maine and shot him several times, killing the man, state police said.
The accused gunman, later identified as 48-year-old James Ford, was found dead by a police K-9 sometime afterward, according to a Maine State Police news release.
Immediately following the shooting the afternoon of Aug. 15, Ford fled Route 302 in Windham, authorities said. Witnesses who were in a U-Haul truck tried to follow him as they called the police and shared his license plate with dispatchers.
In the meantime, other witnesses and a Maine Game Warden, who had been near the intersection when the motorcyclist was shot, tried saving the man until first responders arrived, according to police.
But the man, Erin Hayne, of Casco, died from the gunshots, authorities said.
The individuals in a U-Haul who were driving after Ford lost track of his car, which was ultimately discovered by deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, according to police.
The car, described as a silver sedan, was found, empty, behind a Dunkin Donuts in the neighboring town of Raymond, police said.
A K9 with the Maine State Police Tactical Team then found Ford’s body, according to authorities.
His body was not far from his car, police said, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Ford died by suicide, according to police. It is unclear why he opened fire on Hayne.
“The investigation is still ongoing, and there is no known connection between Hayne and Ford,” police said.
The shooting caused a roughly six-hour shutdown of Route 302 in Windham as investigators gathered evidence, according to authorities. Windham is about a 10-mile drive northwest from Portland.
Ford lived by himself in a Windham apartment, which he left “shortly before the shooting,” police said.
A man, Simon James, told WGME that he had no idea there had been a shooting when he saw the U-Haul that followed after Ford and filmed the truck on the road.
“It almost seemed like they were driving as if they were a cop,” James said while speaking with the TV station, adding that “they were ignoring every red light, ignoring everyone’s safety, just pedal to the metal.”
“They were on a mission,” James said. “I didn’t even know there was a shooter. I just saw a U-Haul driving like crazy.”
The afternoon of Aug. 18, WGME investigative reporter Dan Lampariello shared an image to Facebook of a “growing memorial” for Hayne in Windham.
A photo of Hayne is seen fixed to a blue cross that has been placed in the ground, with bouquets of flowers and other items laid at the cross’ base, the image shared by Lampariello shows.
Authorities said they expect to reveal more about the case when additional information is known.
Maine State Police are asking other witnesses to come forward and share video footage if they happened to record part of the incident.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Gunman kills motorcyclist on the road, Maine cops say. Then gunman’s body found."
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