Suspect Shot In Armed Confrontation With Police [UPDATE]

The man who was wounded in an offer-involved shooting Friday outside a convenience store in Oakfield has died from his injuries.

John Corneil, 54, of Smyrna was injured when police attempted to take him into custody at about 11 a.m. as part of an ongoing investigation. Police say the shooting occurred during an armed confrontation with Sgt. Chad Fuller, a 20-year veteran of the State Police, outside the Oakfield Thriftway store on Ridge Road.

The shooting happened after troopers attempted to arrest Corneil on warrants charging him with assault, criminal threatening, terrorizing, and reckless conduct related to an incident earlier in the week in Smyrna.

Lt. Col. John E. Cote, deputy chief of the State Police said in a statement that Corneil challenged troopers outside a convenience store with a handgun. The weapon was later determined to be a pellet gun that resembled a Beretta 9mm semi-automatic pistol.  The incident was witnessed by several patrons of the store, he said.

As is standard practice with all police shootings, the Maine Attorney General’s Office will investigate the incident and Fuller has been placed on paid administrative leave.

No police officers were injured.  Corneil was taken to the hospital in Houlton. He was later transported to a Bangor hospital, where WABI-TV reports he died from his injuries over the weekend.