Schools went in lockdown mode throughout Machias on February 3 as law enforcement responded to reports of multiple shootings in Jonesboro and Machias. State police and Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies quickly responded to three separate locations in a matter of 30 minutes that morning to find three people dead and one critically injured, all from apparent gunshot wounds.
     At a press conference later in the day Maine State Police Lt. Troy Gardner provided the names of the victims and suspect as well as a timeline of the event as it unfolded. The victims are Shawn Currey, 57, of Machias; Jennifer Bryant‑Flynn, 49, of Machias; and Samuel Powers, 33, of Jonesboro. The critically injured was identified later in a court filing as Regina Hall Long, 49, of Machias. Hall was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland, and she remains in critical condition.
     The alleged shooter is Thomas Bonfanti, 63, of Northfield. Bonfanti was apprehended outside the American Legion Post 9 in Machias at approximately 11:30 a.m. after law enforcement received a call from the Legion.
     Gardner stated there were no additional threats, that Bonfanti was the lone suspect and knew all of the victims, but he declined to comment further. When state police arrived on scene, Bonfanti was taken into custody without incident and unarmed. Police did recover a firearm and will test to confirm it was the same used in the shootings.
     According to Gardner, police have yet to determine the sequence of the shootings as it relates to the three locations, only when the calls were received and subsequent response.
     At 10:47 a.m. a 911 call was received at the Washington County Regional Communications Center (RCC) from 323 Kennebec Road in Machias, where law enforcement found two victims; at 11:03 a.m. RCC received a 911 call from 69 Roque Bluffs Road in Jonesboro, where one victim was found; at 11:20 a.m. RCC received a third 911 call from 666 Kennebec Road, where authorities found one victim. At 11:15 a.m. sheriff's deputies received a call that the suspect was at the American Legion on Court Street in Machias.
Describing the three separate crime scenes Gardner said that Long and Currey were both shot at 323 Kennebec Road in Machias. Long was found outside and transported by medical personnel to the hospital, Currey was found inside. Bryant‑Flynn was shot at 666 Kennebec Road in Machias, and Powers was shot at 69 Roque Bluffs Road in Jonesboro.
      On February 5 Bonfanti was arraigned in a Calais courtroom, appearing before Judge David Mitchell, and was formally charged with three counts of murder and one count of elevated aggravated assault. He was remanded to Washington County Jail in Machias without bail.
     Defense Attorney Jeffrey Silverstein of Bangor requested the Maine State Police affidavit on the crime be sealed until a grand jury is convened, which he believes would be sometime in March.      Both Assistant Attorney General Leanne Zainea, the prosecutor in this case, and Silverstein agreed on waiting to schedule a bail hearing.
     Bonfanti is a U.S. Army veteran who served during the last year of the Vietnam War stationed overseas in Germany. Silverstein commented that Bonfanti was easy to communicate with, appeared to have his mental faculties and to be in overall good health.

Looking for answers
     Lisa Griffin, a 26‑year‑member of the American Legion Post 9 Auxiliary, says Bonfanti was a long-standing member and that he spent a lot of time at the Legion since arriving to the area years ago from Massachusetts. "This is a crazy situation; we had no idea he was capable of something like this," says Griffin. Griffin says that to her knowledge the shooting victims are not affiliated with the Legion.
     "At times he would be nice and agreeable, but sometimes it was like a switch was thrown, you just didn't know what he would say or do," says Griffin. She says he attended functions at the Legion often, did odd jobs and was a mechanic of sorts. "His place in Northfield is essentially a camp with no running water, so he would use the college facilities from time to time," says Griffin.
     Post Commander Brian Smith, a 14‑year member, says this situation has surprised everyone. "This was not foreseen at all," says Smith. "This is out of character with the person I knew him to be." Smith confirms that Bonfanti spent a lot of time at the Legion, was their historian and at one time served as adjutant for membership but lost that position because he was not keeping up with his duties. "There were some issues from time to time, but as with everything, two sides to every story," says Smith.
     Legion auxiliary member Karen Wood says she knew Bonfanti mostly as being quiet but does remember having had an altercation with him. "I think about that time and others where I saw something there and was concerned, but like everything else, you whiz right by it and think, 'Well, maybe I'm overreacting' or 'I'll get back to it and try and do something,'" says Wood.
    "At the Legion and in general there are plenty of people dealing with stuff," says Wood. "I guess I am looking for answers like everyone else and questioning if we missed something or if my situation would have been handled differently, would things be different? That is something I will wrestle with, but for now I feel like I let Tom down by not doing more, and I am sad and sorry for what the families are going through."
     According to Machias police, Bonfanti was arrested for operating under the influence on January 31 and was released on bail the next day. Wood says she was surprised because she knew he had stopped drinking a while ago. "He told me it was because he was diabetic and his doctor advised him to stop," says Wood.
      In Jonesboro, a neighbor of Elizabeth Powers does not remember hearing anything that morning and says that Powers stopped over later that day, devastated at the loss of her son Samuel. "She was just needing to talk to someone," says Stephen Rutter. "She has always been a good neighbor."
     Powers said that Bonfanti had been a frequent visitor for quite a long time. "Sometimes his truck would be there a few days, so I assume he stayed there occasionally," says Rutter. Powers told Rutter that she was there that morning when Bonfanti arrived but thought nothing of it because he had been there before, and her son and he were friends.
     She left to run errands, and when she returned she found her son in the basement shot. "Liz also told us that Devon Bryant, the son of Jennifer Bryant‑Flynn, at one time lived with her and Samuel, but didn't any longer because of a physical altercation he had had with Bonfanti," says Rutter.