Cumberland County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Welsh fired at Douglas Tenczar as the 41-year-old Sebago man was levelling a shotgun at his porch door, behind which stood another deputy in the line of fire, authorities said Thursday.

As Welsh fired, Sgt. David Hall moved from behind the door and opened fire himself. Tenczar did not shoot.

Both deputies have been placed on adminsitrative pleave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Maine Attorney General's Office, which investigates all uses of deadly force by the state's officers.

Tenczar was in critical condition Thursday following the Wednesday night incident.
Sheriff Mark Dion said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that the incident could easily have turned deadly for the officers had Welsh not made the decision to fire.

Deputies had responded to Tenczar's house to investigate a road rage incident a few minutes earlier in which a man had brnadished a handgun during a confrontation with three females driving on Route 114.