2 Alaska State Troopers shot dead while investigating gunman report

USPA News - Two state troopers were killed in a shooting in central Alaska on Thursday afternoon while investigating a report that someone had brandished a firearm the night before, authorities said, but few other details were immediately available. The incident occurred at an undisclosed location in the village of Tanana, which is located in the central part of mainland Alaska, about 281 miles (453 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage.

"The Troopers responded to Tanana to follow-up on a report from last night that a subject had brandished a firearm in the village," said Megan Peters, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). One person was detained after the shooting, but his or her identity was not immediately disclosed. Resident and former schools superintendent Mary Edwin told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that the shooting happened at approximately 3 p.m. local time. She said Tanana City Schools had already released students at the time but briefly went into a lockdown mode. All students were safe and in their own homes by 6 p.m., the newspaper reported. Peters said she was waiting for more information but said the Alaska Bureau of Investigation had responded to Tanana to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths. "I know it was this afternoon but I don`t have anything more specific. I probably won`t have more concrete information until tomorrow," she said. The spokeswoman could also not say whether there were other victims, or whether the shooting occurred outside or inside a residence or business. Thursday`s deaths of two state troopers represent the worst single loss of life in the agency`s history and is the first murder of a trooper since Hans-Peter Roelle was shot dead by a suspect in Wasilla in November 2001.