Both the man who was shot Monday evening in the West End and the person he was arguing with beforehand were armed with handguns, police said Tuesday.
Samuel T. Iserbyt, 48, the owner of the Chadwick Street address where the dispute occurred, was shot and seriously wounded, according to Iserbyt’s mother.
Police have said nothing about what prompted the disagreement. In a carefully worded statement, police said only that the two men were armed and knew each other, and that their confrontation ended with one man being shot.
No arrests have been made, no charges have been filed and the police said they do not believe there is a danger to the public.
Police had taken a man into custody but he was released without being charged, said Portland police Lt. James Sweatt. He declined to comment on the man’s involvement in the shooting.
“Detectives are working with the District Attorney’s Office to evaluate the facts and determine any possible criminal charges,” police said in the statement. “We encourage anyone that may have witnessed the incident to contact the Portland police.”
Although authorities declined the confirm Iserbyt was the victim, his mother, Charlotte Iserbyt, 85, of Dresden, said in a phone interview that her son was the wounded man, and that it was only his proximity to the hospital that saved his life. Maine Medical Center is located at one end of Chadwick Street.
“Oh yes, it could have been terribly serious,” she said. “He’s just very lucky he was alive. He was in the Marines, and he’s been in action in the wars. He managed to stay alive in the war, and then something like that happens.”
She said her son is recovering from surgery in the intensive care unit and has spoken with detectives.
Iserbyt was severely wounded and was bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound, his mother said. She credited the swift work of paramedics and doctors for saving his life, and said he was recovering in the intensive care unit at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Tuesday.
“It was just a ridiculous situation,” Charlotte Iserbyt said of the altercation, without offering further details. “I do know my son is alive, thank God, he’s a pretty rugged kid. It takes a lot to get him down.”
Iserbyt has lived alone on Chadwick Street for about five years, his mother said, and served with the Marines during Desert Storm in 1991.
According to the state Bureau of Identification, Iserbyt has a minor criminal record of misdemeanor charges dating to at least 1993, including more than one operating under the influence charge. None of the charges would preclude him from possessing a firearm.
Iserbyt was also charged in October 2015 with two counts of harassing Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck’s wife, Mary Sauschuck, who is a Portland police detective, but the District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute and the case was dismissed in March.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Ackerman, who signed the dismissal order in the harassment case, did not return a call seeking comment.
Assistant Police Chief Vern Malloch declined to discuss the harassment case because there was no conviction, but said Mary Sauschuck has no involvement in the current shooting case.
Police first received a report about 8:30 p.m. Monday of a disturbance and a shot fired at a home at 146 Chadwick St.
The building where the shooting occurred stands between a bed and breakfast and a sober-living home. Across the street is a busy parking lot that serves the hospital.
Albert Nicholas, 62, has lived across and a few doors down from that address for the past seven years. In that time he cannot recall anything similar happening nearby.
Nicholas said he heard arguing and what sounded like a firecracker, but never thought it was a gunshot.
“It’s one of the best neighborhoods in the city of Portland,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect it.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Portland police at 874-8575.
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