A man with a shotgun who took a pharmacist hostage during an attempted drugstore robbery in Camden fatally shot himself a few hours after releasing the hostage, police said Tuesday.

Robert Beerman, 34, of Camden entered the Rite Aid at 7:30 p.m. Monday armed with a sawed-off shotgun, according to Camden police. He ordered everyone out of the store except for one pharmacist.

Additional Images

Police tape blocks an entrance to a Rite Aid pharmacy in Camden on Tuesday and a sign in the window tells customers that the store will reopen Wednesday. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Local and state police converged on the store on Elm Street, about one block from the town office. The surrounding neighborhood and streets, including U.S. Route 1, were blocked off during the standoff. Hostage negotiators and the Maine State Police Tactical Team arrived at 9:30 p.m., police said.

Beerman released his hostage about four hours after the incident began, and police continued to negotiate with him. After he did not respond for about 40 minutes, members of the tactical team forced their way into the building.

They found Beerman at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at the rear of the store, dead of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

The Maine State Police Tactical Team assisted local police, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Village Soup, a local newspaper, said the FBI joined the tactical team and officers from Camden, Rockport and Rockland.

Village Soup said there have been several robberies at the pharmacy during the past few years, the most recent in 2012.

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