ACTON — A 55-year-old Hopper Road man is dead and his son has been charged with killing him.

Robert Morrill died at Goodall Hospital in Sanford Saturday afternoon, reportedly of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Later Saturday, Maine State Police arrested and charged his son, Ross Morrill, 22, with murder in connection with his father’s death.

Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said the shooting took place in front of the family home at 1009 Hopper Road at about 3 p.m.

He said Vickie Morrill, the wife of the victim and mother of the man charged, witnessed the shooting and reported it.

Detectives gathered evidence at the home on Saturday and Sunday, including a hunting rifle they believe was used in the incident, and are still investigating.

“We’re looking into what sparked this violence,” said McCausland this morning.

The younger Morrill lived with his parents on the rural roadway which connects Acton with nearby Milton Mills, N.H.

On Saturday and Sunday, laundry still flapped on the clothesline outside the home, which was ringed with yellow crime scene tape. A swimming pool still bore its winter cover.

An autopsy on Robert Morrill was scheduled for today at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta.

The younger Morrill was taken to the State Police barracks in Alfred for questioning following the shooting and was charged there Saturday night. He was then taken to the York County Jail and is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday, though McCausland this morning said that scheduling for the court appearance could change.

Both McCausland and York County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Fecteau said they are unaware of any prior criminal history associated with Ross Morrill.

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@gwi.net.