Man charged with attempted murder in Shirley shooting
A Bath man accused of shooting a female relative in Shirley was arrested at gunpoint later on Monday (July 8) morning in Kennebec County after leading a state trooper on a brief chase.
Christopher Hallowell, 24, was charged with attempted murder in connection with the early morning shooting at North Point Farm & Garden on Route 15 in Shirley that wounded a woman, according to Chief Deputy Todd Lyford of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, who was shot once, was taken to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, where she was treated for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, he said.
Hallowell
A Monday post on the North Point Farm and Garden Facebook page said the business would be closed for the next two days due to a family emergency.
“We got called around 6:45 this morning to a report of someone being shot and we found out a female victim had been shot once,” Lyford said, saying Hallowell took off from the scene.
A state trooper later spotted Hallowell in a Ford Escape, belonging to his mother, and a chase ensued that came to a quick end about 8:15 a.m. when Hallowell crashed while attempting to navigate a turn at the intersection of Clark and Winslow roads in Albion, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Albion is east of Waterville in Kennebec County.
Hallowell, who was not injured in the crash, was taken into custody at gunpoint, McCausland said. He has been taken to the Piscataquis County Jail in Dover-Foxcroft.
Lyford said that the victim and Hallowell are related, though he did not specify the nature of their relationship. “The victim and Mr. Hallowell are family members, it is not a domestic-related issue, he said. “It’s some kind of family-type incident.”
“Mr. Hallowell is currently in jail, he’s been charged with attempted murder and we’re working with the DA to see what other charges there are,” Lyford said. Hallowell may be facing other charges related to the vehicle chase.
In February, Hallowell, a former executive committee secretary for the Libertarian Party of Maine, announced a bid for the House District 52 seat vacated by Democrat Jennifer DeChant. Hallowell failed to collect the necessary signatures to get on the ballot, according to The Times Record. In an April special election, that race was won by Sean Paulhus, the Democratic vice chair of the Bath City Council.