A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after he allegedly fired a gun on Munjoy Hill early Thursday and fled.
Police were called to the area of 184 Congress St. shortly after 4 a.m. for reports of a fight and the sound of a gunshot.
An officer tried to stop a vehicle leaving the area when the teenager, a passenger in the car, ran off. He was later seen by police running on Cumberland Avenue, and a second officer chased him.
The teenager was within a few feet of the officer when the teen allegedly reached for a semi-automatic handgun in his waistband and said, “I have a gun,” according to police. The officer tackled him.
Police Lt. Robert Martin said the officer who chased down the teenager is lucky to be alive.
“The officer was in fear of his life, and he was so close he didn’t have time to react,” Martin said. “He made the conscious decision to tackle him.”
There were no injuries as a result of the apparent gunshot on Congress Street. Police are searching for ballistic evidence, including a shell casing, Martin said.
Martin said that a group of people who knew each other got into a fight on the street, and that the teenager now under arrest fired the shot, but was not one of the people involved in the fight.
Police are working with federal authorities to trace the handgun. So far, there is no indication it was stolen, Martin said.
The teenager’s name has not been released because he is not an adult. He was taken into custody and brought to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, Martin said.
After the teenager’s arrest, police also found an unspecified quantity of crack cocaine hidden in a body cavity.
The teenager is expected to face multiple charges, including criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, carrying a concealed weapon and failure to submit to arrest.
The Maine Warden Service was also on the scene with a specially trained dog to search for the shell casing.
Although charges are expected to be forthcoming, the teenager is not expected to appear immediately in court. The District Attorney’s Office has more time to file the charges after his arrest because he is under the age of 18, Martin said.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at:
mbyrne@pressherald.com
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