Police Identify Man Who Was Found Dead During Waterville Standoff
Authorities have identified the man who was responsible for an hours-long standoff in the College Avenue vicinity of Waterville yesterday afternoon into this morning.
Police say 23-year-old James Croxford discharged a firearm multiple times Tuesday afternoon that led to several 911 calls being placed. This provoked a massive police response to a vacant building at 8 Highwood Street. As police approached the building a window was broken from the inside and officers could see the barrel of a weapon and a shot was fired.
Once a perimeter was set up, communication was attempted between authorities and the suspect, though all attempts were unsuccessful. At the time, police did not know the suspect's identity nor his motive. At about 6:30 PM Tuesday evening, another two shots were heard from inside the building.
Following those two shots, the state police tactical team arrived and deployed a drone to survey the building as well as a robot to breech the building to attempt to locate the suspect. It took awhile to canvas the entire building so Portland Police deployed their tactical team to assist as well.
Just before 4 AM Wednesday morning the tactical team entered the building to begin clearing each floor. It was at that time that the suspect was located in the basement of the building, deceased with a weapon next to him.