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Trent Weston

Age : 37

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/28/2024

Location : Piscataqua River Bridge, Interstate 95

City : Kittery

County : York

State : Maine

Agency : Maine State Police; New Hampshire State Police

Officer(s) :Craig Nilsen; Nicholas Cyr; Stefan Wong-Wagner

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Suicide and homicide under police duress during abduction

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2024, at approximately 2:07 a.m., Trent Weston, 37, called York Communications in Maine and reported that he had been involved in a fight with his wife at their home in Troy, New Hampshire, and that she was dead. New Hampshire State Police subsequently went to the family's residence at 359 Monadnock Street and found Weston's wife, Brittany Weston, 37, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
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At approximately 2:30 a.m., Kittery police located Weston's vehicle stopped on the southbound side of the Piscataqua River Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine. Police from both states responded, closed the bridge and began attempting to negotiate with Weston. Authorities also learned that the Westons' 8-year-old son, Benson Weston, was missing from the Troy residence.
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The standoff continued for more than two hours. According to the Maine Attorney General's subsequent investigation, Weston had a handgun and at points placed it on the bridge's concrete barrier. Police continued attempting to persuade him to surrender.
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Near the end of the standoff, police alleged that Weston picked up the handgun and raised it toward New Hampshire officers. New Hampshire State Police Sgt. Nicholas Cyr and Trooper Stefan Wong-Wagner and Maine State Police Trooper Craig Nilsen fired at Weston. Weston then fell approximately 135 feet from the bridge into the Piscataqua River, and the U.S. Coast Guard recovered his body.
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The original account of Weston's death changed substantially after the investigation. An initial autopsy determination attributed his death to multiple gunshot wounds and classified the manner as homicide resulting from police gunfire. The Maine Attorney General's later investigation, however, reported that video from a New Hampshire Department of Transportation camera showed Weston shooting himself in the head before police bullets struck him. The final review stated that the fatal head wound came from Weston's own firearm. Police gunfire also struck Weston in the chest, back, arm, thigh and shoulder.
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After Weston fell from the bridge, police searched his vehicle and found his 8-year-old son, Benson, dead in the back seat from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators determined that the gunfire that killed Benson originated from inside the vehicle and was unrelated to the troopers' gunfire. Authorities subsequently alleged that Weston killed both Brittany and Benson before his own death.
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On 03/31/2025, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey concluded that Nilsen, Cyr and Wong-Wagner were legally justified in firing at Weston because they reasonably believed he was about to use deadly force against officers. The ruling concerned the officers' use of force; the subsequent investigation nevertheless determined that Weston's fatal head wound was self-inflicted.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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Maine State Police Trooper Craig Nilsen and New Hampshire State Police Sgt. Nicholas Cyr and Trooper Stefan Wong-Wagner were identified as the three officers who fired at Weston. Cyr was serving as assistant commander of the New Hampshire State Police SWAT team during the bridge standoff.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/08/29/piscataqua-river-bridge-man-killed-child-found-dead/74993448007/
https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/media-center/public-releases/critical-incident-being-investigated-kittery
https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-ag-troopers-involved-in-bridge-shooting/62436268
https://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-new-hampshire-police-ruled-justified-i95-bridge-shooting/64351387
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/03/31/troopers-found-justified-in-deadly-piscataqua-bridge-shooting/
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/08/30/police-continue-investigation-into-deadly-bridge-confrontation/
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/trent-weston-piscataqua-bridge-shooting-family-identified/