By JEANNETTE J. LEE
The Associated Press
A man was shot to death near Manley Hot Springs on Tuesday after pointing a long gun at an Alaska state trooper, officials said Thursday.
The man was shot by an out-of-state fisherman who had called for trooper assistance because, he said, the man who was killed had earlier been shooting at him and a fishing partner. The trooper was Michael Wery, based in Fairbanks.
The dead man had lived in the 75-person community of Manley Hot Springs for several years and had been camping nearby for what troopers say may have been several months.
The two men didn't know each other and troopers said their identities would be released only after family members had been notified.
Trooper spokesman Brandon Anderson said the man who was shot was 40 years old and had a criminal history, including a DUI.
The incident is still under investigation. Troopers don't know why he may have been shooting at the fishermen, who had been sportfishing on the Tanana River.
Troopers also didn't say whether the fisherman, a 42-year-old tourist from Arizona, would be charged in the shooting.
A law passed recently by the Alaska Legislature allows a person to use deadly force in self defense outside the home, but the law doesn't go into effect until mid-September.
"There will certainly be an investigation into whether it was defense of self and defense of a trooper," Anderson said.
