Alaska State Troopers identified the three law enforcement officers who fired their weapons during what the agency described as an “exchange of gunfire” this week in which troopers killed a Wasilla man.
Troopers said Caleb Lloyd, who has been with the agency for four years; Harrison McKenney, with the troopers for three years; and Andrew Wilkins, with the troopers for one year, were the officers who shot at Joshua Baert, 35, on Tuesday.
Around 10 troopers initially responded to a report of a man, later identified as Baert, who walked into a Wasilla-area home uninvited around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, carrying a gun and an ax and demanding to see someone who wasn’t there, troopers said in an online report.
Baert didn’t make any threats and left without incident once residents told him the person wasn’t at the house, troopers said. The gun he carried was a semi-automatic assault rifle.
Troopers searched for him in the woods nearby and could hear occasional gunshots, but couldn’t see where they were coming from, according to troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel. Troopers say he ignored repeated requests to stop and drop his weapons.
At about 8:15 p.m., troopers located Baert on South Edelweiss Drive, near West Hollywood Road.
He started firing at multiple troopers with a handgun, McDaniel said. They shot and killed him.
Lloyd, McKenney and Wilkins were placed on a three-day administrative leave. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.
Once complete, its investigation will be independently reviewed by the Office of Special Prosecutions.