Anchorage police resolved a standoff in the neighborhood of Mountain View on Thursday afternoon by deploying tear gas into an apartment where a 26-year-old man who allegedly threatened an officer with a gun had barricaded himself.
The Anchorage Police Department called out its SWAT unit Thursday morning after Eric Nebreja threatened the officer at a nearby Shell gas station, police said.
Police said Nebreja was initially taken into custody on felony warrants stemming from weapons misconduct, assault and escape. He now faces a slew of new charges for Thursday's incident: weapons misconduct, burglary, resisting arrest, tampering with evidence, criminal mischief, driving with a suspended license and a second-degree drug charge for intent to distribute heroin.
According to a Thursday evening news release, an officer spotted a vehicle at about 9:20 a.m. at the gas station and recognized it as one that had eluded police last week.
"When the suspect saw the police officer, he attempted to drive away from the gas station; in doing so, the suspect hit the station manager's truck with his vehicle," the news release says. "The officer then blocked the suspect's vehicle with his patrol car and tried to make contact with the driver."
Nebreja fled on foot into an area off North Flower Street. During the foot pursuit, an officer deployed a Taser. The non-lethal stun gun grounded Nebreja but he pulled the Taser's prongs from his body and continued to run, said police spokesperson Anita Shell.
Then he pulled out a weapon and pointed it at two officers, according to the news release.
Nebreja ran past several bystanders and reportedly held the gun to his head, "appearing to threaten to commit suicide," police said. He managed to enter a multifamily building and barricaded himself inside, police spokesperson Jennifer Castro said.
Residents of the building as well as those in nearby homes were evacuated. Police set up a perimeter around the area and negotiated with Nebreja for several hours.
"We want to make sure he doesn't harm any bystanders, officers or himself," Castro said before police opted to deploy less-than-lethal force.
Police cordoned off a block in the neighborhood, deploying the department's armored Bear vehicle in an alley between Mountain View Drive and Peterkin Avenue. Officers wearing tactical gear were perched atop the vehicle as requests were projected through a megaphone.
"We have Tasers, we have canines," an officer said. "We don't want you to get hurt. We don't want you to hurt yourself."
Passers-by strolled the sidewalks around the secured block, crossing the street to distance themselves from the incident when police requested.
Police closed a stretch of North Flower Street and were using the parking lot of Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa in Alaska as a staging area.
Clark Middle School is visible from the church. That school and others in the Mountain View area went into stay-put mode, said Anchorage School District spokesperson Patti Layou. Stay-put mode means the students and staff could move around inside the schools but the exterior doors and windows are locked.
Around 2 p.m., police said Nebreja had been taken into custody. They deployed tear gas into the apartment building, and Nebreja surrendered without further incident.
There were no major injuries, police said, though Nebreja was taken to a hospital to be treated for inhaling tear gas and a minor cut on his leg sustained after breaking out a window.
Police still need to question a woman they believe was with Nebreja in his car. Shayna Beltran, 22, is also wanted on warrants for felony theft and a misdemeanor warrant for giving false information to police.