As investigations into the shooting of 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero continue, Daniel Boucher is sharing his story of watching the moments after shots were fired from his front porch.
Boucher has spoken to a number of media outlets in the days following the shooting outside his home on the intersection of Pool and Hill streets. He's the only witness so far that claims to have heard what he believes were Guerrero's last words: "I tried to stop."
In an interview with Maine Public, Boucher says he's still living with the confusion, fear and tragedy of the event.
TRANSCRIPT, BOUCHER: Well, normally I get ready for work. I get up fairly early and always watch 'Morning Joe.'
Then I heard 'pop, pop, pop, pop,' and I thought 'it's a strange time to set off crackers, firecrackers, you know.'
I couldn't see anything out of the [living room window] because of the vines. I ran upstairs and I saw the white sedan, kind of 90 degrees to the road to the curb, and a white SUV kind of in the corner — trying to box them in.
And then I saw the white sedan move and come down. I see videos of it turning, and I didn't see that. Maybe from my perspective, I just couldn't. But it came down the street towards where we are.
At that point, I didn't know that he had been shot. And so the SUV hit the sedan again, and it caused it to be going sort of a northerly direction in the Hill Street, sort of towards Hill Street, but it actually stopped near the curb at this intersection.
And then the ICE officer came out of the vehicle, started tried to open the door. He had a trouble opening the driver's side door, maybe because it had been hit. I don't know.
He told him, 'Calm down, calm down, calm down.' When he finally opened the door and pulled the young man out, he had blood on his head, blood on his face. It was gruesome, just gruesome.
And I heard him say, 'I tried to stop.' Then I could see just his legs, and his feet, and his stomach. And after a while, I couldn't see his stomach breathing anymore. I knew it wasn't good.
And then I heard somebody, one of the ICE agents, call 911. At that point, they had brought a large medical kit. Then, the ICE agent that shot him walked by with another agent that was consoling him.
At one point, the other agent had his head in between his hands, trying to talk to him. That's when I said, 'I hope you're proud of what you've done,' or something to that effect. I don't remember exactly what.
And he looked at me and told me (Guerrero) tried to hit him and then he just walked away.
At one point, now I understand. I believe it was (Guerrero's) wife that was sitting on the curb across the street, just crying hysterically. I believe there was a Biddeford police officer and an EMT attending her. And they walked her away eventually.
Boucher says he's shared his eyewitness account with the FBI and state attorney general investigators.
