Maine gunman killed his parents and two of their friends, police say

Lone gunman, 34, killed his parents and two of their friends before shooting three others on Maine highway – a day after posting chilling video claiming he’d been molested

• Maine gunman Joseph Eaton, 34, killed his parents and their two friends in a home in a rural part of the state on Tuesday, police said
• Authorities said that Eaton has also admitted to opening fire on a nearby interstate injuring three people
• The suspect was released from prison on assault charges a few days before the shooting 

Lone gunman Joseph Eaton, 34, killed his parents and two of their friends before opening fire on a Maine highway, a day after he alleged in a Facebook Live video that he was ‘traumatized’ after being ‘molested.’

Eaton has admitted to the shootings as well as to opening fire along Interstate 295, injuring three people, a Maine State Police spokesman said in a press conference.

In a chilling Facebook Live video posted a day before the massacre, the suspect made reference to his mother, Cynthia Eaton Robinson. She was 62. 

The others have been named as his father, David Eaton, 66, and their friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62. The murders took place at the Eger’s home in the town of Bowdoin. 

The three people wounded while driving on the highway have been named as Sean Halsey, 51, Justin Halsey, 29, and Paige Halsey, 25. Paige is listed as being in critical condition.  

Eaton’s parents, David and Cynthia, pictured on her Facebook page in March 2021

Slain couple Patricia ‘Patti’ Eger and Robert Eger pictured on her Facebook page in May 2020

The gunman will make his first appearance in court this week. He has been charged with four counts of first degree murder. 

According to his mother’s Facebook page, she and her husband lived in Ocala, Florida, just north of Orlando. Posts on her page show she and her husband to be passionate supporters of ex-President Donald Trump. 

In the chilling video posted on Monday, Eaton asks people to ‘try to forgive him’ and reveals that he suffers from trauma after being molested.

‘Being molested and stuff. It destroys somebody. I know I’m good for my kids. I just wish people would forgive me, you know, some people. I don’t get it,’ Eaton said. He does not say from whom he is seeking forgiveness.

Eaton criticizes unnamed persons for ‘claiming to be Christian’ but are unable to ‘forgive somebody or understand what they go through.’

‘You can’t give someone a second chance, but you say you’re a Christian. How does that make sense? Why can’t you just try to take it slow, try to get to know the person. What good’s it do to hate somebody? It destroys you,’ he adds.

Joseph Eaton posted this photo on the day of his release from prison accompanied with the caption: ‘Real food’

Bullet holes can be seen in the windshield of the silver sedan that was involved in the shooting 

Eaton’s mugshot: He has lengthy criminal history in Maine, with charges including assault and illegal possession of a firearm on this record 

Eaton is facing four counts of murder, he has yet to be charged in the interstate shooting  

Eaton is seen wearing handcuffs in police custody. Shortly after this picture was taken, he was taken from the scene in a police cruiser

‘Life as a whole is suffering. You work for the duration, you get sick, people you love die, and your guaranteed to have ‘bad days.’ You die and lose everything you spent your life obtaining. There is more to it than meets the eye. Life is a trial for what is to come,’ Eaton wrote in a Facebook post on April 16.

Eaton was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes and and completed a sentence for assault on April 14, according to state records.

Past convictions included aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm.

The origins and ownership of the firearms used in Tuesday’s shootings were unclear. State police declined to comment on the weapon that was used.

Eaton has a criminal history in both Maine and Florida. His crimes include felony aggravated assault, domestic violence and violence against a law enforcement officer, reports the Portland Press Herald.

The suspect was sentenced to three years in prison in the Sunshine State on felony weapons and assault charges in 2018.

On Friday, Eaton wrote on Facebook: It’s finally over. There are so many people I can’t wait to see.’ A day later he posted a photo showing him eating breakfast with the caption: ‘Real food!!!!’

Following the shooting, Bowdinham resident Ian Halsey said that some of the victims were his cousins. ‘My cousin is in critical condition and my other cousin is stable. There is no connection between the victims. It was random that my family was shot at,’ Halsey told the Portland Press Herald. 

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