Man charged with murder in shooting death of Wells toddler
May 22—A toddler who was shot at a house in Wells has died, and a man was charged Sunday with her murder.
Andrew Huber-Young, 19, of Wells is accused of shooting three people, including a 2-year-old girl, around 4:20 p.m. Saturday at 97 Crediford Road, state police said. Octavia Jean Huber-Young died later at a hospital.
Huber-Young was taken to the York County Jail, where he is being held without bail. He is expected to face additional charges as the investigation proceeds, said Shannon Moss, spokeswoman for the Maine State Police.
Two men were transported Saturday to local hospitals with gunshot injuries that were not life-threatening. An autopsy of the toddler will be conducted in the coming days, Moss said.
Police would not name the two injured men or discuss the victim's relationships to Andrew Huber-Young. But an uncle of Octavia told the Press Herald that the suspect is another uncle of the girl and that the two men are Octavia's father and grandfather.
Octavia's uncle, Craig Higgins of Sanford, said the shooting suspect is the brother of Octavia's father.
Higgins said his niece was "just learning to form words. She was starting to say 'please' and 'thank you.' She tried to say 'uncle' but wasn't able to get that out yet. We were working on that. She did good saying 'grammy' and 'mamma' and 'dada.'"
Higgins said his sister, Samantha Higgins of Acton, is Octavia's mother. The girl's father is Ethan Huber-Young of Wells, who lived with his parents and is Andrew's brother, Higgins said. Samantha was too shook up Sunday to talk about her daughter, he said.
Octavia's mother was working at her nursing job at a Kittery nursing home when the shooting occurred. The toddler was with her father, Higgins said. The couple is separated, and Ethan lives with his parents, Higgins said.
Higgins said his sister told him that the parents were kicking Andrew out of the house, and that Andrew left, then returned and "got a gun and started shooting." Andrew shot the baby's grandfather in the face, he said. "Ethan was shot once in one arm and once in his shoulder" and was holding Octavia when she was shot, Higgins said.
The child was rushed to York Hospital, where she was stabilized and transported by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center, where she underwent surgery but died, Higgins said. York Hospital confirmed Saturday that three gunshot victims were taken there and that the toddler was later taken to Maine Med.
Moss said Saturday night that numerous people had called 911 to report that they had heard shots fired at the home.
The small, two-story house on Crediford Road, which is on Route 9A, is a rural neighborhood where homes are far apart.
Higgins said Sunday that he had babysat Octavia on Wednesday. "She was absolutely a peach," Higgins said. "Oh my God, she was so funny. She was blowing raspberries all day." Octavia had a 3-year-old sister, he said.
He said the family has received many messages of sympathy. "We wanted to thank for the thoughts and prayers. It's just a senseless tragedy," Higgins said. He posted on Facebook that his heart has broken.
"Octavia was such a precious little girl," he wrote. "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."
