Alaska State Troopers said two troopers shot and killed an armed 20-year-old man Friday afternoon in West Fairbanks after he didn’t drop his gun according to their commands “and instead began to manipulate the gun.”
Troopers were patrolling the area of Cherokee and Ravenwood avenues, west of the Fairbanks International Airport, in a marked vehicle shortly after 2 p.m. Friday when they saw Patrick Alexander “walking down the road while concealing a long gun,” the agency said in an online report. The troopers knew Alexander “as having multiple warrants for his arrest,” including for assault, terroristic threatening, weapons misconduct and other offenses, Alaska State Troopers said.
Two troopers were at the scene, agency spokesman Austin McDaniel said. According to the agency’s report, the troopers tried to contact Alexander and issued multiple commands for him to drop his gun. He didn’t drop the firearm, and started to “manipulate the gun,” Alaska State Troopers said.
Both troopers fired their duty weapons, McDaniel said. Local emergency medical services arrived at the scene and took Alexander to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, troopers said.
Alexander’s next of kin have been notified of his death, and his remains will be sent to the state medical examiner for autopsy, McDaniel said. No troopers were injured during the shooting, according to the agency’s report.
The troopers who discharged their weapons will be identified in 72 hours, according to Department of Public Safety policy.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting, and the state Office of Special Prosecutions will review their investigation. Details surrounding the handling of the long gun that troopers said was in Alexander’s possession are part of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s ongoing investigation, McDaniel said.