Four Dead in Maine House Shooting, 4-Year-Old Found Inside Unharmed

OAKLAND, Maine (TheBlaze/AP) -- Two women and a man were shot to death inside a house in central Maine, while a young girl was left unharmed, by a gunman whose body was found outside the residence, police said early Thursday.

Officials received a number of 911 calls reporting a shooting at a home in Oakland at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said in a statement. He said one of the calls was from one of the women who had been shot and later died.

Emergency vehicles clogged the road in front of the house in Oakland, Maine, where four people were found dead overnight. (Image source: WCSH-TV)

The two women and the man shot to death shared the home with the gunman, McCausland said.

He said the gunman shot himself outside the residence and was found in the driveway.

A 4-year-old girl was found unharmed inside the house. The girl has been turned over to relatives, officials said.

Watch WCSH-TV's report:

The three victims were identified as Amanda Bragg, 30; Michael Muzerolle, 29; and Amy Derosby, 28. The gunman was identified as 42-year-old Herman Derico.

Police said Bragg and Muzerolle were the parents of the 4-year-old.

Investigators are still trying to determine a motive.

“We don’t have a clear understanding of why this happened,” Lt. Troy Gardner of the Maine State Police said at a press conference, according to the Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel.

Residents told the newspaper they found such a tragedy surprising because Oakland is a small, generally quiet town.

“It’s a nice quiet street,” Renee Spencer told the Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel. “The loudest thing we hear is cars.”