Crime & Courts

Troopers shoot man in Nikiski they say drove toward them

Several Alaska State Troopers opened fire Wednesday at a man in Nikiski who they said was driving at them, troopers said in a dispatch. The man was wounded and taken to a local hospital.

Troopers in Soldotna had received a tip around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday that a man with a felony arrest warrant was at a Nikiski home. When troopers responded and attempted to arrest him, he drove a vehicle at a trooper, they said. Several troopers fired their service weapons, according to the dispatch.

Troopers have not identified the man. According to the trooper statement, he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. No officers were injured, troopers said.  

The troopers who fired their guns were placed on administrative leave for 72 hours, per trooper policy. Their names will be released when their leave is over, according to the dispatch. Troopers have not said how many officers fired their weapons.

Troopers said the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, a trooper division, is investigating.

Megan Peters, troopers spokeswoman, said she had no additional information Wednesday and any questions about the online trooper dispatch would not be answered by troopers until Thursday.

The Peninsula Clarion reported Wednesday that the Nikiski Fire Department was called out the shooting around 12:50 p.m., in the Island Lake Road area off the Kenai Spur Highway.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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