At about 5:30 a.m., nearly two hours before sunrise in Garland, Maine, a suspect stole a Komatsu front end loader from a nearby gravel pit. The suspect then used the front end loader to attack a nearby home with people inside. The machine caused significant damage to vehicles parked in the driveway in an apparent attempt to force entry into the house. The sheriff’s officer reports residents exited the house and fired shots at the driver, wounding him and forcing his retreat.
Here is the report from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office:
Gunshots were fired during an incident involving a stolen front-end loader in Garland.
On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at approximately 5:30 a.m., the Penobscot Regional Communications Center received a report of individuals who appeared to be stealing a large front-end loader from a gravel pit near their residence. The incident was reported to be occurring on Upper Notch Road in Garland.
Shortly after receiving the initial call, the complainant reported that the front-end loader was now in their driveway, attempting to run through their house. The complainant also mentioned that the machine was destroying vehicles in the driveway.The initial investigation suggests that individuals exited the home and fired several rounds at the front-end loader. The machine then reversed out of the driveway and fled the scene. It crossed a large field and went down a woods road.
At approximately 6:10 a.m. PRCC received another report that a large front-end loader was driving on the roadway, it was eventually located by law enforcement on the Center Road in Charleston. The lone occupant surrendered to law enforcement without incident and told them, he had been shot. Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported the man to a local hospital. Upon his release, he was arrested and transported to the Penobscot County Jail.
The operator of the front-end loader was identified as Michael Thompson (37) of Corinna. This investigation remains active and additional charges may be pending.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Maine State Police.
The attack is remarkably similar to the mass murder by front end loader and gunfire which occurred five months ago, about 30 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii. That attack also started with ramming cars. It ended with the suspect shot and killed by one of the residents. In this instance, the perpetrator did not use a firearm and was wounded instead of killed. This may be a case of media contagion, where a suspect learns of an action by another criminal and is inspired to use a similar method. Many mass public murders with firearms are known to have been inspired by media contagion.
Large front end loaders such as the Komatsu used in these attacks are very tough machines. The steel bucket can act as a shield against gunfire. The tires are big and tough and difficult to deflate quickly with gunfire. For quick action, the most vulnerable target is the driver. In the pictures taken by the Penobscot Sherriff’s office, you can see several bullet holes in the windshield of the front end loader.
No one in the residence was reported to be injured.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
I had a REALLY bad criminal neighbor A$$hole for over twenty years. The first couple years were constant harassment until one day when we were building a wall between our properties and he attacked me and my crew with his tractor and knocked down the wall we had built so far. This was after dozens of police reports and the police doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So, I ran into the house, retrieved my 12 ga and laid waste to his tractor (with him initially on it). He never attacked us face to face again. He did park his catapillar Bulldozer on… Read more »
Contagion is a great word. It applies to diseases of the body, mind, and culture. I’m glad there were no injuries in the targeted house.
so now we hade to worry about crazies with dozers and top loaders, what a world we live in, mental health is the issue
Look up Granby, Colorado killdozer.. On June 4, 2004, Marvin Heemeyer took a bulldozer and tried to destroy the town of Granby. Article said he had a bulldozer which he welded steel plates to it to convert it into a tank. It even had cameras and a computer It was estimated that he caused $10 million in damages to the town. He destroyed town hall building and mayor’s home. He would have done more, but as he was knocking down a building, it had a basement and the bulldozer got stuck. The police eventually dismantle the bulldozer so no one… Read more »
Dean, I am grateful for all your detailed and accurate work – particularly your bear defense articles. From the anti-RKBA (Right to Keep and Bear Arms) movie series “Lethal Weapon”, here is a scene from “Lethal Weapon 3” where our hero uses so-called “cop killer” bullets to stop the former-officer villain using a similar machine in his murderous attempt. https://youtu.be/KfZFOGTg7Tc?si=vqLtaqCzUGwDjE6u&t=129 p.s. In case you don’t believe that movie series is anti-RKBA, watch them again and listen to the language and look for the propaganda shown in the background. (Hint: it gets more obvious as the series progresses.) For another homework… Read more »
Look: humans are violent and too often nuts. People are going to die in conflicts – that’s the way it has always been and that is the way it will always be. Should those who die be innocent bystanders, or nut cases who fly off the handle and threaten the innocent bystanders? That’s the choice; the choice is binary; there’s no third option. In a society, we have laws, and punishment, and law enforcement. Law enforcement DOES NOT WORK at moments of lethal attack. It cannot, because it is not there. No one is coming – the decision is up to YOU, as it has always… Read more »