AUBURN, Maine — A man whose actions led emergency officials to order a shelter-in-place early Saturday morning in Auburn has been fatally shot by law enforcement officers.
Law enforcement officers held a news conference around 1 p.m. in Auburn, during which Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle of the Auburn Police Department and Col. William Ross of the Maine State Police provided updates about the situation that began about 12 hours before.
Emergency dispatchers received a call shortly before 1 a.m. from a woman who was reporting that her significant other was in a fight with an armed individual who was attempting to break into their residence. During that call, police said dispatchers could hear shots being fired.
The woman then fled the residence to hide and was safely located by Auburn police about 10 minutes later on Russell Avenue, where officials then observed a residence on fire and a person yelling from inside the burning building.
The woman identified the man inside the building as 43-year-old Leein Hinkley.
Police said the man then began yelling and shooting at officers from the burning residence while mutual aid from Maine State Police, the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, and other local agencies were beginning to arrive at the scene. By 1:30 a.m., the man was shooting at officers again, and a second residence on Russell Avenue caught fire.
Hinkley then fled the residence and took shelter at a nearby garage, then made his way to a flat-topped roof nearby, where he again was yelling while brandishing a firearm, police said in the press conference.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday, Auburn police on Facebook reported an "emergency situation with an armed individual" on Russell Avenue in Auburn.
Police urged residents in the area to secure their homes and shelter in place.
Police also said they were aware of several structure fires on Russell Avenue, as well as a power outage in the area, but they did not say whether any of those incidents were connected to the incident they were responding to initially.
At about 5 a.m., Central Maine Power was reporting 1,685 outages. As of noon Saturday, there were 273 outages, with 15 of them being in Androscoggin County.
Around 5:30 a.m. members of the Maine State Police Tactical Team located Hinkley, who was still armed with a gun on the roof, where he was shot and killed by law enforcement.
Around 6 a.m., Auburn police issued an update on Facebook stating the incident on Russell Avenue was resolved and the shelter-in-place had been lifted.
"There is no threat to the public," police said in the post. "Emergency units will remain on scene for some time."
The two state police troopers involved in the shooting, Scott Duff and Patrick Hall, have been placed on administrative leave while the Maine attorney general's office investigates the use of deadly force, which is standard practice for shootings that involve law enforcement.
A spokesperson with Maine State Police told NEWS CENTER Maine Saturday afternoon that the state fire marshal's office is investigating the fires, which include a search of debris and to determine a cause. However, the official said that given the extent of the damage, a cause may never be determined.
The house where the original call was made was the first one to catch fire, which then spread to the house next door, according to officials. Both houses were destroyed in the fire. The fire also spread to a third home, but it only caused minor damage to the residence, police said.
During the news conference, police shared that Hinkley was convicted in 2011 on domestic violence elevated aggravated assault charges. He recently was arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident and was taken into custody on a probation violation stemming from that conviction.
Hinkley was released on bail on June 12. Police said he initially was held without bail on the probation violation over the objection of the district attorney's office, and the court reduced his bail to $1,500 with conditions that included house arrest at a residence in Lewiston.
"It's been an intense and tragic morning here in Auburn," Cougle said at the press conference Saturday afternoon. "Incidents like this one we have experienced today are most frightening for our community, especially in light of the events that took place this past October."
The criminal incident is being investigated by the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit.
Officials said during the press conference that they are still looking for another individual involved in the incident but clarified there is no threat to the public.
One officer injured their leg after falling during the response, but no other injuries by law enforcement were reported. That officer was treated at a nearby hospital and has since been released.
Officials did not disclose any information about other possible injuries or about the fires at the time of the press conference.