On a tragic afternoon in Belfast, Maine, the life of 37-year-old Raymond Blazo was cut short in a sudden and violent outburst. The date was September 8, 1933, when a local man, 66-year-old Adrian F. Jones, embarked on a shooting spree through the town. Jones, who was known to harbor grudges against some of his victims, was armed with a shotgun and other firearms.
That day, Raymond Blazo was standing in front of the Blazo Trucking Company office, a business owned by his father, William W.
Blazo. He was engaged in a conversation with his 73-year-old father and a 57-year-old veterinarian, Reginald B. Stanhope, whose office was located above the trucking company. From a distance of about 50 feet, Jones opened fire on the three men. Raymond was struck twice in the chest and died almost instantly. His father was mortally wounded by shots to his arm, chest, and abdomen. Mr. Stanhope was also fatally shot, succumbing to his injuries two hours later after being hit in the neck, a lung, and a kidney.
The perpetrator, Adrian F. Jones, did not stop there. He had already killed another man, 65-year-old Herbert E. Ellis, before making his way to the Blazo Trucking Company. After his attack on the Blazos and Stanhope, Jones fired at another man on a wagon, who was unharmed, though his horse was struck. Following the shootings, Jones barricaded himself inside a nearby blacksmith shop.
As police and armed volunteers surrounded the building, the standoff came to a grim conclusion. A few minutes after barricading himself inside, Adrian F. Jones used one of his revolvers to take his own life. The motive for the deadly rampage was attributed to a combination of Jones's mental instability and long-held grudges he had against at least two of his victims, one of whom was William Blazo. Because the perpetrator committed suicide, there were no arrests or trials in connection with the death of Raymond Blazo and the other victims of that fateful day.
