Early on the morning of April 18, 2023, police responded to a report made by Lisa Shea. Shea, who was visiting Maine for Easter, had gone to the Eger’s house to retrieve a sweatshirt she had left there previously. After arriving at the house of her sister and brother-in-law, she observed droplets of blood on the front steps. 

Inside the house, Shea found more blood, broken glass, along with a towel covered body in the kitchen. CNN reported that, “she told police she saw ‘several firearms laying out’ and ‘bullet holes everywhere.’”

The body in the kitchen was that of 72 year old Robert Eger, who was the brother-in-law of Shea. The gruesome deaths also claimed the lives of his wife, Patricia Eger, along with their two houseguests, David Eaton and Cynthia Eaton. 

During the beginning of her visit Shea had been staying in the Eger’s house, but moved to her son’s house to make space for the Eaton’s who were visiting from Florida and waiting for their son’s release from prison.

David and Cynthia Eaton’s son, Joseph, had been serving time for aggravated assault before staying with his parents at the Eger’s house for the holiday. NBC News says, “Eaton was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes and served an eight-month sentence last year for assault, according to state records. Past convictions included aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm, according to state records.” 

“The sad truth is that our state is not immune to gun violence, whether it be firearm suicide or accidental shootings involving children,” Rep. Vicky Doudera of Camden, Maine shared after the discovery of the horrific scene in Bowdoin.

This awful scene not only has shaken the community of Bowdoin, but also brought questioning and scrutiny upon Maine’s gun laws and criminal justice laws. 

These violent deaths contribute to the growing number of gun violence incidents in the state of Maine. According to Statewise, “Maine’s violent crime rate is the lowest in the nation.” But still, on average, EveryStat states that 163 Mainer’s die at the hands of gun violence every year. 

Gun violence doesn’t just kill, it also scares. It is something that affects churches, schools, and businesses. Just in the Fall of 2022, Maine schools statewide experienced gun violence threats that caused lockdowns all over. Portland High School, one of the schools affected by this traumatic event, still has students that are being affected by this. Michael Brown, a teacher at PHS says, “I relive that a lot, I’m not going to lie,” in remembrance of students and teachers fleeing the school in fear for their lives. 

“A few of my advisory students were sprinting down the hall with such a stressful look on their face and fear and other teachers had come down from the first floor where they had witnessed the police come into the building and were just pushing kids into classrooms. And I knew right then it was serious,” Brown also said. 

These students were scared and confused as they were being ushered into different classrooms by the many police officers. 

“Pretty quick we figured out how to download the police app, and we were listening to the police radio,” a senior Eliza Stein said. “We were listening to the one in Sanford in live time. And we were all just silent.”

Even though this threat was fake, it still affected and continues to affect so many. Though Maine is one of the safest states in terms of gun violence and criminal activity, it is still plagued by these tragedies. 

This devastating event serves as a reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of coming together as a community in times of crisis. It also highlights the need for continued efforts to prevent and address violence, particularly domestic violence which is a leading cause of homicide.