HAMPDEN – A man apparently shot himself inside a Hampden home shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to Sgt. Steve Pickering of the Maine State Police.

The gunshot death originally seemed suspicious, and despite some undefined “unusual circumstances,” Pickering said he was comfortable the case was not a homicide. He also stated it appeared to be a suicide.

State police would not release the name of the deceased man until the next of kin were notified, but said an autopsy would be performed today.

An unidentified woman was in the Constitutional Avenue home at the time of the shooting, Pickering said. The woman was interrogated by the state police for nearly an hour and was seen carrying a purse and small backpack from the home before she was driven off at approximately 7:15 p.m. in the front passenger seat of an unmarked state police car.

A red Saab was seen in the driveway of the home, but no other vehicles were outside. The home did have an attached garage.

None of the neighbors appeared to have heard the gunshot.

Neighbors reported that a woman was renting the home and had an estranged husband.

Hampden Public Safety arrived at the scene and then called the state police, according to Joe Rogers, Hampden public safety director. Several detectives, as well as the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team, arrived at the scene, taking photos of the home and its surrounding yard.

The curiosity of area residents was roused by the row of police cars outside the house.