Photos: Man dies following exchange of gunfire with police

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 8

Anchorage police investigate the death of a man who allegedly exchanged gunfire with officers in the area of 15th Avenue and Medfra Street on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015.

Anchorage police say a man died after leading police on a car chase and exchanging gunfire with officers in the neighborhood of Fairview Sunday morning. Police shut down a stretch of 15th Avenue from Karluk to Sitka streets while they investigate the incident and the exact circumstances surrounding the man's death.

"We can't say right now whether we shot him or whether he took his own life," Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew said near the scene Sunday.

Mew detailed the events that led up to the fatal shooting, though cautioned that everything was "very preliminary."

Around 9 a.m., police first received reports of an erratic and dangerous driver near the intersection of Reka Drive and Pine Street near Russian Jack Springs Park in East Anchorage. Driving a black Ford F-250 pickup truck, Mew said the man ran red lights and drove into a snowbank. When police attempted to pin him in, he rammed their vehicles and pointed a gun at the officers, according to police. The officers disengaged from the pursuit and the man sped off, Mew said.

Shortly after, police received more reports of the same vehicle driving erratically, including into oncoming traffic in the area of Northern Lights Boulevard and Boniface Parkway. Police said they chased the vehicle to 15th Avenue and Medfra Street in Fairview before the driver stopped and got out of the truck.

READ MORE: Man killed after exchanging gunfire with Anchorage police following pursuit