A former East High football star with aspirations of playing Division I college football next fall was shot and killed by police early Thursday in Palm Desert, Calif., according to the Desert Sun newspaper.
Frank Tanuvasa, 20, was a sophomore at the College of the Desert, a junior college where Tanuvasa was an offensive guard on the football team. At 6-foot-6 and 370 pounds, he was one of the biggest players to come out of Alaska and was a Division I prospect for next season.
According to the Desert Sun report, sheriff's department investigators say Tanuvasa was believed to be involved in a late-night burglary at an apartment complex. He was one of three people seen running from the complex, a sheriff's department spokesman told the newspaper.
The spokesman said Tanuvasa was shot as he fought with a deputy but would not say if Tanuvasa was armed or believed to be armed.
The two other men spotted running with Tanuvasa were not apprehended, the spokesman said.
Tanuvasa was a 2009 East High graduate who was a second-team all-Alaska football selection during his season year.
"He was one of the biggest players I've ever seen up here," said East football coach Jeff Trotter, who was an assistant coach at South when Tanuvasa played at East. "He was real cordial."
Anchorage Daily News