Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks Police exchanged fire with two men following a vehicle chase on the south side of Fairbanks on Wednesday morning. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that both suspects were shot; one is dead, and the other is hospitalized.
Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says the incident started at about 9 a.m. with the attempted pullover of a vehicle for a basic traffic violation.
“The stop was for failure to use a turn signal,” Peters says. “The vehicle immediately began eluding Troopers. And a few minutes into the pursuit, shots were fired toward Troopers by both the driver and a single passenger. More Troopers and Fairbanks PD were advised of the situation and attempts to stop the vehicle using tire deflation devices failed. The vehicle finally came to a stop at Dennis Road and Bradway Road. Shots were exchanged between law enforcement and the suspects. The active situation was over at 9:38 a.m.”
Peters says no law enforcement officers were injured in the incident, but would not provide any additional information. The situation prompted the Fairbanks school district to initiate a lockdown, but the situation was resolved before it was implemented at all sites. The shooting follows a similar incident in south Fairbanks yesterday, in which an armed man in a vehicle was shot by Alaska State Troopers. Only cursory information is available in that case as well.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
