Dead 8-year-old child found in vehicle of man killed by police on New Hampshire-Maine I-95 bridge

Warning: Disturbing content.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A man being pursued in the killing of a woman in New Hampshire was fatally shot by police on a bridge that connects the state to Maine, authorities said Thursday. An eight-year-old child was found shot to death in the man’s car.

The Piscataqua River Bridge along Interstate 95 has been closed since about 3 a.m. and traffic was backed up on both sides as drivers were diverted to two other bridges.

The Piscataqua bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine — and tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge daily. It remained unclear whether the traffic standstill would clear before Labor Day holiday travel begins in earnest.

The man apparently killed a woman at a home overnight in Troy, New Hampshire, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in the western part of the state, and then drove to the bridge, Attorney General John Formella said in a news release.

“Early this morning police engaged with the adult male on the bridge in an incident that ended with the male being fatally shot. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is now investigating that officer-involved shooting incident,” the news release said.

“Police on the bridge also found an eight-year-old child fatally shot” in the man’s vehicle, the news release said. The exact circumstances “remain under active investigation.”

There was no threat to the public and the bridge remained closed in both directions because of the investigation, the news release said.

No names have been released.

Between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the Piscataqua bridge each day, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.

Associated Press reporters David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.