Near the scene in Hinesburg where police are investigating a “suspicious” death. Photo by Aidan Quigley/VTDigger
This story was updated with the victim’s name and other details at 9 p.m. Friday.
HINESBURG — Vermont State Police are investigating the death of a man in Hinesburg who was found with gunshot wounds. State police say they believe the man’s death was a “targeted event,” and it has been deemed a homicide by the chief medical examiner.
David Auclair, 45, of Williston was found dead around 10:40 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the LaPlatte Headwaters Town Forest on Gilman Road.
In a press release Friday evening, police said the medical examiner had completed an autopsy and determined the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.
Dan Trudeau, the commander of the Vermont State Police’s major crime unit, said Friday afternoon that police were treating Auclair’s death as suspicious.
“This is an unsettling thing to hear about, no doubt,” Trudeau said. “At this point of our investigation, we don’t think there is any danger to the public and we feel like this is a targeted event.”
Police initially responded to reports of gunshots in the area, and located Auclair’s body near his gray GMC pickup truck. State police responded after Hinesburg police requested their assistance.
Auclair’s body was transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington Friday afternoon for an autopsy. Trudeau said he was unable to report a cause and manner of death before the results of the autopsy are returned.
“I can say, from our investigation, we do know there were multiple gunshot wounds,” he said.
Trudeau said the state police had not identified any suspects but are looking for security footage, and interviewing friends and family. He said the state police welcome help from the public.
“Anybody who may have heard gunshots that evening, saw the victim, were on that road and may have seen suspicious vehicles, anything of that nature would be helpful to the investigation,” he said.
Trudeau said he could not share any more information about the evidence collected from the scene as the investigation continues. He said he could not disclose where the gunshot wounds were on Auclair’s body.
The road where the parking lot is located, Gilman Road, is heavily wooded and near the Cedar Knoll Country Club off Vermont Route 116. On Friday morning, half a dozen police vehicles and a red investigation tent were visible on the scene.
Trudeau said the state police had finished processing the scene but were maintaining security there pending the conclusion of the autopsy.
Gilman Road reopened Thursday afternoon, but the parking lot where the death occurred remains closed.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Police: Homicide of Williston man in Hinesburg was ‘targeted event’.