On April 17, 2023, four people were shot to death on a property inBowdoin, Maine, United States. On April 18, shots were later fired at vehicles, seemingly randomly, alongInterstate 295 inYarmouth. Three members of one family were wounded, one critically, while driving. The perpetrator, 34-year-old Joseph Eaton, was then taken into custody.[1] On July 1, 2024, Eaton pleaded guilty in the shooting and was sentenced tolife in prison.[2]
The first shooting happened at a rural property in Bowdoin, where four people—the parents of the suspected shooter and their long-time friends—were killed.[3] One person was found dead in the barn, and the other three were found in the house.
The next day, the shooter then drove 40 minutes south to theYarmouth area.[3] He opened fire indiscriminately at several cars onInterstate 295 southbound, between exits 17 and 15,[4] wounding a 59-year-old man and his son and daughter, both in their 20s. The daughter was seriously wounded.[5][6][7]
Joseph Eaton, 34, was arrested and charged with four counts of murder on April 18 after police located and detained him off Interstate 295. Police say he subsequently confessed to the killings of his mother and father and a couple, described as the parents' best friends, in Bowdoin, as well as to shooting at vehicles along the interstate highway.[8]
Eaton started drinking alcohol and using recreational drug andsteroids at a young age.[3] He has had multiple mental health diagnoses, most recentlyborderline personality disorder, and says he was sexually assaulted by two babysitters and another person.[3] According to aforensic psychologist who has not met him personally, borderline personality disorder is associated with symptoms such as "poor impulse control, minimization of responsibility, and justification of violence because he was treated unfairly".[3] Eaton was upset that when he was released from prison, most people, including his two ex-wives, did not welcome him back into their lives.[3]
Eaton had a substantialcriminal record before the shooting.[9] He had previously been convicted of crimes in Kansas, Maine, and Florida,[10] on charges such asburglary,drunk driving, andaggravated assault.[3] At least three women, including both ex-wives, broke up with him after he physically assaulted them.[3] In 2018, he assaulted three police officers with abaseball bat in Florida, in what he says was an attemptedsuicide by cop.[3] This resulted in a three-year prison sentence in Florida, plus two years in theMaine Correctional Center in Windham, because the Florida assault violated the terms ofprobation for a previous conviction in Maine.[3][9] He was released from the Maine facility four days before the shootings.[5] His mother picked him up from the prison; his parents, whom he described as "the absolute epitome of unconditional love", paid for a hotel, and bought new clothes for him.[3]
On October 28, 2025, Eaton died in custody at a Massachusetts correctional facility after suffering a medical emergency. Officials said no foul play was suspected, and the cause of death remains under investigation.[11]
For his actions in Bowdoin, Eaton was charged with four counts of murder for the family and family friends he killed, one count of aggravatedcruelty to animals for killing a dog, plus nine charges for stealing firearms from his mother[3] and the friends he killed, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.[9][10]
For his actions in Yarmouth, Eaton was indicted on 11 criminal counts, including three counts of attempted murder for the people he injured on the highway.[10] Eaton said that he opened fire on the cars because he thought they werepolice cars.[3]
In July 2023, he entered pleas of both not guilty andnot criminally responsible.[9] Later, in December 2023, he withdrew the not criminally responsible plea.[12]
On July 1, 2024, he pleaded guilty in the shooting and was sentenced to life in prison.[2]
