On the afternoon of Friday, August 15, 2025, Erin Hayne, a 33-year-old Caucasian male from Casco, Maine, was fatally shot while riding his motorcycle in Windham. The incident occurred around 1:55 p.m. at the intersection of Roosevelt Trail and Landing Road. Hayne was a devoted father to his 11-year-old son and was remembered by his family as a generous and hardworking man who had a passion for fishing.
Witnesses reported that a silver sedan pulled up alongside Hayne's motorcycle, and the
driver fired multiple shots at him before fleeing the scene. A game warden who was in the vicinity and other bystanders attempted to provide life-saving measures, but Hayne was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. His death was later ruled a homicide, with the cause being multiple gunshot wounds.
The shooter was identified as James Ford, a 48-year-old resident of Windham. Alert witnesses in a U-Haul truck followed Ford's vehicle and were able to provide his license plate number to the police before losing sight of him. Law enforcement later located Ford's abandoned sedan behind a Dunkin' in Raymond. A subsequent search by a Maine State Police K-9 unit led to the discovery of Ford's body near the vehicle. An autopsy determined that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators have stated that there was no known connection between Erin Hayne and James Ford. The motive for the shooting remains unclear. The incident prompted a temporary shelter-in-place order in the area and a significant police response that shut down a portion of Route 302 for several hours as investigators processed the scene.
