Brothers' fight over T-shirt led to death of 22-month-old girl in Wells, Maine, police say

WELLS, Maine — Andrew Huber Young entered the lobby of the Wells Police Department on Saturday and delivered a chilling message to the dispatcher on duty, according to court documents.

“I (expletive) up and accidentally shot at my (expletive) family,” the 19-year-old reportedly said.

An affidavit filed in court by Maine State Police detective Conner Walton, of the Major Crimes Unit, opened with this exchange. From there, Walton detailed a day of family strife that culminated in Andrew Huber Young shooting his brother, father and 1-year-old niece, Octavia Jean Huber Young, who later died from her injuries.

When the dispatcher asked Andrew Huber Young where the gun was located, he replied it was in his car, according to the affidavit. After securing a search warrant, police officers found a .22-caliber Ruger Mark 6 handgun in the trunk of Huber Young’s vehicle.

Not long after, police found shell casings of the same caliber at his family residence at 97 Crediford Road.

Huber Young was arrested Sunday and charged with murder. He is accused of killing his niece, Octavia, as a result of a bullet he reportedly fired at her father — his brother, Ethan Huber Young — while he was holding her at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Previous story: Young girl dies, 19-year-old man charged with murder in Wells, Maine shooting

Huber Young is being held without bail at York County Jail, according to police.

He will appear in court on Tuesday and police said more charges could be forthcoming.

Police: Dispute began over a T-Shirt

Octavia died less than two months before she would have turned 2 on July 13. The family tensions that culminated in gunfire on Saturday allegedly started that morning over an argument about a T-shirt, according to the police affidavit.

State police detectives interviewed Huber Young at the Wells Police Department after the shooting. During the interview, Huber Young said he and his brother, Ethan, had been arguing at their residence, where he, Ethan, their mother, Candace, their father, Mark, and Ethan’s daughter, Octavia, were living.

“The argument started over a T-shirt that belonged to Andrew but was being worn by Ethan,” Walton stated in his affidavit. “Andrew said Ethan changed out of Andrew’s T-shirt into another one of Andrew’s T-shirts. Andrew said that the argument escalated from there.”

Huber Young said that he was told to leave his residence and that his father walked him to his car. From there, Huber Young went to a Sea Dogs minor league baseball game in Portland with his girlfriend, according to the affidavit.

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While out of town, Huber Young continued to text back and forth with his brother, the affidavit stated. During his interview, he told the detectives that his brother said things about destroying Huber Young’s property and “smashing his hamster cage.”

Huber Young told the detectives that he returned to the house after the baseball game and was in possession of a firearm he had stolen from his father. He said the gun was loaded and added that he had put it in the trunk of his car earlier that day.

“Andrew said the gun had bad aim, and he knew this from previous target shooting with it,” the affidavit stated.

'He's got a gun'

Candace Huber told investigators she was in the kitchen when she saw Huber Young pull into the driveway in his car, according to court documents. She said he approached the door but could not enter the house because it was locked. Through the door, she talked with Huber Young about his hamster and told him she would take care of it.

Huber Young left the door, went to his car, and returned with the gun, according to the affidavit.

“He’s got a gun!” Candace Huber screamed.

Huber Young saw his mother duck before he shot through the door at his brother, the affidavit stated.

Huber Young, who told detectives he “has an anger control problem,” said he realized he had shot his father because he saw he was injured after the shooting.

“Andrew said that he aimed at Ethan’s chest before shooting, but claimed that he didn’t intend to kill Ethan,” the affidavit stated. “He claimed he wanted Ethan’s respect.”

Candace drove Octavia, Mark and Ethan to York Hospital’s urgent care center on Sanford Road in Wells. She knew Mark and Octavia had been shot. From the urgent care center, emergency personnel brought Mark and Ethan to Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire.

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Mark had been shot in the facial area and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the affidavit. Ethan too suffered a non-life-threatening injury, in his shoulder. Both men were treated and released.

Octavia, however, did not survive.

Emergency personnel rushed Octavia from Wells to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was pronounced dead at 5:51 p.m.

On Sunday, an autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta showed Octavia had died from a single bullet that passed through her left arm, entered her chest, struck her heart and liver, and exited from her right side.

Community in shock

The home where the shooting took place is across the road from Mount Zion Chapel, which posted a message Monday afternoon, “Praying for the Huber Young family and all those who knew Octavia. We mourn with you.”

Josiah Smith, director of Christian services at Northpoint Bible College in Haverhill, which oversees the church, said the church is trying to reach members of the family in the event they would like a pastor present for a memorial service or vigil.

“We definitely want to do whatever we can,” Smith said.

Craig Higgins, the brother of Octavia’s mother Samantha, wrote in a Facebook post they were devastated, according to the Portland Press Herald.

“A piece of me died with her today. I have lost all faith in humanity. There is just too much hatred and not enough love in the world,” he wrote.

Andrew Huber Young had been working for the last six months at Chase’s Country Store on the corner of Crediford Road and Route 109 in Wells, Maine, according to the manager there, Al Altaf.

The manager said Andrew had previously worked at Las Olas down the road and was a reliable worker who seemed honest and showed up on time. He said Andrew had the day off Saturday and was supposed to work Sunday.

“It was shocking,” Altaf said. “Never seen coming, this one.”

A GoFundMe online fundraising page was created Sunday to help raise money for Samantha Higgins, who is also pregnant with another child, while she mourns her daughter. The page was created by Michelle Blasi, the post stating it was from Samantha’s “work family” at Durgin Pines, a retirement home in Kittery. The post had raised $1,410 as of Monday afternoon.

“Enduring such a loss is going to be an extremely emotional process and we would like to see that she gets help financially so that she can be with family during this time,” The post states. “Samantha is a wonderful mother to another young girl while an additional one is on the way.”

If you need help

As a community service, the following information is published with stories in which domestic and/or sexual violence is alleged:

Help available in York County, Maine: Caring Unlimited, based in Sanford, Maine, offers individualized safety planning services to anyone impacted by domestic abuse, supporting thousands throughout York County through each year with free programs. The Caring Unlimited hotline is available 24 hours per day: 1-800-239-7298. More information at caring-unlimited.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells shooting resulted from a family fight over t-shirts, police say