A man’s homemade booby trap killed him on Thanksgiving, Maine police say

A 65-year-old man who had filled his home with jury-rigged booby traps to keep out intruders died on Thanksgiving when one of the devices accidentally fired on him, police say.

Ronald Cyr of Van Buren, Maine, called 911 early Thursday evening to report that he’d been shot, but later died of his injuries, police wrote on Facebook.

When police arrived at Cyr’s home, they found he’d rigged a pistol to fire if someone opened the front door, officers wrote, along with so many other booby traps that alarmed officers called for help.

The Maine State Police Bomb Squad responded to help dismantle the plethora of homemade traps, police reported.

An investigation that lasted until Friday morning discovered that Cyr had been shot by one of his own booby traps that had somehow accidentally discharged, according to police.

Numerous other agencies, including the Van Buren Ambulance Service, U.S. Border Patrol, Maine Warden Service and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, also assisted, police wrote.

Maine state law allows the use of deadly force against intruders in some cases, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that lethal booby traps are generally illegal, The Washington Post reported.

In September 2018, an Illinois man died after opening a neighbor’s shed that had been rigged with a shotgun, BBC News reported. The 48-year-old homeowner was later convicted of murder and aggravated battery.

Van Buren is located near the Canadian border.

This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 4:00 PM with the headline "A man’s homemade booby trap killed him on Thanksgiving, Maine police say."