Child found dead after New Hampshire police kill suspect in woman’s death

A man suspected in the killing of a woman overnight has been shot dead by police on a bridge linking New Hampshire and Maine, officials say, which led to the discovery of a dead 8-year-old child in the man’s vehicle.

The incident began on early Thursday morning when a woman was found deceased at a home in Troy, a town in Cheshire County, about 41 miles (67 km) southwest of Concord.

Police say the suspect in the woman’s death then drove to the Piscataqua River Bridge, on Interstate 95, which links Portsmouth, New Hampshire with Kittery, Maine.

“Early this morning police engaged with the adult male on the bridge in an incident that ended with the male being fatally shot,” the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.

After the shooting, police found an 8-year-old child who had been fatally shot in the suspect’s vehicle, the statement said. It was not immediately clear whether the child was killed at an earlier time or during the police-involved shooting.

“The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain under active investigation,” the attorney general’s office said.

The Piscataqua River Bridge remained closed on Thursday morning due to the ongoing police investigation. Traffic is being diverted to two other bridges in the area and motorists are advised to seek alternate routes.