Teen girl holding knife shot and killed by officers, Anchorage police say

A 16-year-old girl with a knife was shot and killed by officers responding to a report of a domestic disturbance off Tudor Road in East Anchorage late Tuesday, police say.

No officers were injured, police said. The encounter took place at the Greenbriar apartment complex on the 4800 block of East 43rd Avenue.

Family members on Wednesday identified the girl as Easter Leafa. She is the fourth person to be shot and killed by Anchorage police since mid-May.

Officers received a report of a disturbance involving family members just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, police Chief Sean Case said at a media briefing Wednesday morning.

The 911 caller said her sister was threatening her with a knife, Case said. Officers who entered the involved apartment “gave the subject some commands,” he said. “The subject approached them while still holding the knife,” he said.

One officer fired multiple rounds and a second officer fired with a round with a less-than-lethal 40 mm projectile, Case said. The girl was struck in the upper and lower body, police said. Officers provided “medical support” and the wounded teen was brought to an Anchorage hospital, where she was declared dead, he said.

There were other people inside the apartment when the shooting happened, but no one else was injured, police said.

Leafa was about to start her junior year in high school on Thursday, Case said.

“This is a tragic incident, there’s no other way to describe it,” he said. “As police officers, we strive to protect human life. And when we don’t meet that goal, there’s no other way to describe it than it’s tragic.”

The involved officers had not been interviewed by Wednesday morning and Case said he could not speak to their individual decisions to use deadly or less-lethal force.

“Typically our training does involve when you have a less lethal projectile or any sort of less lethal tool, like a taser for instance, that we always have lethal with that officer,” Case said. “So you’ll see an officer that will have a handgun or a rifle or some sort of lethal projectile as well as a less than lethal at the same time. And each officer is making a determination to use the tool that they have with them based on the circumstances in front of them.”

The shooting is the sixth involving Anchorage police since May, leaving four people dead and two wounded.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.