Officials have identified the family members who were shot to death after a dispute that began overnight in Troy, New Hampshire, and ended in a police shootout on the Piscataqua River Bridge on Thursday.
Eight-year-old Benson Weston and 37-year-old Brittany Weston died of multiple gunshot wounds that were ruled homicides, according to autopsies conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. State police officers shot 37-year-old Trent Weston on the bridge. Police said he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The incident unfolded over several hours, according to police.
Investigators said York Police got a 911 call at 2:07 a.m. Thursday from Weston saying he had been involved in a fight with his wife in Troy, New Hampshire, and that she was dead.
At 2:30 a.m., Kittery Police found the Weston's vehicle on the Piscataqua River Bridge parked on the southbound side in Maine. Law enforcement shut down the bridge and tried to negotiate with him.
They said Weston exited the car and raised a firearm and that Maine State Police Trooper Craig Nilsen and two New Hampshire State Police troopers, whose names are not being released, responded with deadly force. The suspect fell off the bridge into the water below and was declared dead.
Maine State Police Colonel William Ross said after the shootout an 8-year-old boy was found fatally shot in the backseat of the vehicle.
"This death is not associated with the police use of deadly force. I want to stress that right now. The child's death is not associated with the officers' use of deadly force today. We have information that that is not the case," Ross said.
The troopers involved have been placed on administrative leave while the Maine Attorney General's Office investigates the case.
