Police in Portland and Westbrook are hoping the Maine State Police crime lab will determine whether the same gun was used in drive-by shootings in each community early Sunday.
Nobody was injured at either location, although the resident at 430 Bridgton Road in Westbrook was at home and in bed when someone fired several shots at the house, then drove off. One bullet hit the home’s sprinkler system for suppressing fires.
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The homeowner woke to the sound of gunshots, a fire alarm and the sprinklers going off, said Westbrook Detective Sgt. John Desjardins. The owner shut off the water, but the house sustained significant water damage.
Desjardins doubted that the Bridgton Road shooting at 4:30 a.m. Sunday was a random act. Police in both cities consider the shootings serious and are intent on identifying who fired the shots.
“It’s dangerous when people are firing rounds through houses in residential neighborhoods,” Desjardins said.
According to city tax records, the house, which sits well back from the road at the top of a moderately long driveway, is owned by John DiSanto Jr. He does not have a listed telephone number and could not be reached for comment.
At 73 Birchvale Drive in Portland, which sits close to the road in a quiet residential neighborhood, someone shot the windows out of a Toyota Camry belonging to a woman who said she owned the house. Foos Ali said Monday that she heard loud bangs just before 5 a.m. on Sunday, but did not report the incident until later that morning because she thought it was a heating system malfunction.
A resident a couple of blocks away on Brookview Terrace also reported hearing shots fired at 5:15 a.m., according to police dispatch records.
Lt. James Sweatt, head of the criminal investigations division for Portland police, knew of no previous calls for police service at that address that might suggest that someone might have a grudge against a resident.
Detectives have interviewed the residents at both houses. Police say the residents have been cooperative, but said they know of nobody who would wish them harm.
Because of the proximity in time and location – the two houses are less than 2 miles apart – the departments are collaborating to determine whether the cases are related, hoping that connections between the victims might provide clues about who fired the shots.
“We’re still working on trying to triangulate and determine what the common denominators are, trying to determine what the relationship is between the victims in Portland and Westbrook,” Desjardins said.
Investigators also have gathered evidence from both crime scenes, which has been sent to the State Police crime lab in Augusta for analysis. The lab should be able to determine whether the same gun was used in both incidents.
Police in Westbrook also are gathering security video from businesses along the Bridgton Road corridor in that area. There would have been relatively little traffic at that time, so the images might provide clues that could identify the car that fled.
Police continue to ask for the public’s help by calling either 854-0644 or the anonymous tip line at 591-8117 in Westbrook, or in Portland calling 874-8584 or by texting the word “GOTCHA” and a message to 274637.
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