The Nation - News from Nov. 14, 1988

A man posing as a police officer killed one person and wounded three others in a two-state shooting spree believed linked to the closing of a home for the retarded that he had managed, police in West Gardiner, Me., said. Police said the man killed himself while officers chased him at speeds up to 90 m.p.h. Alan Matterson, 36, former head of the Mechanic Falls group home, shot the home’s former bookkeeper, two officials involved in regulating such homes and one of their relatives. One was upgraded from critical to serious condition. Police said the motive appeared to be revenge. The series of shootings spanned about 100 miles in New Hampshire and Maine within less than four hours. Matterson, of Cumberland, Me., posed as a police officer at at least one of the residences where shootings occurred, according to authorities. A 1987 state probe of finances and management led to the revocation of the home’s license.