AP News, July 3rd, 2007
Police combed the Mount Washington Valley on Tuesday for a gunman who killed three people in what appeared to be a robbery at an outdoors gear store.
The manager of the Army Barracks store and two men in their 20s were gunned down Monday morning by a man who then ran into the woods, police said.
"The suspect may still be in the community," police and prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday. "The public should continue to take precautions, as the suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous."
Police said a man was taken into custody in Fryeburg, a town just east of the store, and was being questioned but they declined to give more details.
Two victims were found inside the store and the third was "basically on the threshold," Senior Assistant Attorney General Ann Rice said. She said she could not comment on whether the third person was entering the store or was trying to flee when he was shot.
The store is on busy Route 16 through the Mount Washington Valley, where outlet stores draw hordes of shoppers. Several miles of the highway were closed for hours Monday while police searched the area.
Army Barracks, a small chain, is based in Salem, Mass. The stores sell camping equipment and gear such as knives, stun guns and paintball guns, but no firearms, Vice President Marilyn Brabantes said.
The victims were identified as store manager James Walker, 34, of Denmark, Maine; William Jones, 25, of Walpole, Mass., and Gary Jones, 23, of Plymouth, Mass. The Joneses were not related, investigators said.
Ken Jones, the brother of William Jones, told the Boston Herald that William and Gary Jones were friends returning from a camping trip in Maine.
"They were in (the store) just shopping. It was that random," Ken Jones said.
Walker's wife, Tess, manages an Army Barracks store in Scarborough, Maine, Brabantes said.
Walker's ex-wife, Kristi Riley, of Fryeburg, declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press on Tuesday, but told The Boston Globe they have two children together, a 1-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl.
"My daughter is trying to deal with her daddy being gone," said Riley, who said Walker coached their daughter's softball team.
"He was a really good father," she said. "He was a fun-loving man. He did everything he could to be a good dad."
