A police officer in Anchorage, Alaska was ambushed and shot several times by a suspect Saturday, the city’s police chief said.
That suspect was shot and killed by another responding officer, said the Anchorage Police Chief Chris Tolley.
The wounded police officer did not have life-threatening injuries and is expected to survive. Neither the suspect nor the police officer’s names were released Saturday.
The shooting occurred shortly after 4:30 a.m. when a police officer approached a pedestrian, whom he thought could be involved in a theft.
That man held a gun and opened fire on the officer. The injured officer called for help and another Anchorage police officer arrived and shot the suspect.
“Our officers tried to save this individual’s life,” Tolley said of the suspect. “They were unsuccessful. The individual died at the scene.”
The injured police officer was taken to a nearby hospital where he received emergency surgery.
Two weeks after the Fairbanks shooting
Tolley called the shooting “horrific,” describing it as a “clear, intentional ambush.” The police chief said he had seen the video of the incident, although he didn’t specify where the video came from.
Following the usual protocol, the two officers who fired their weapons will be placed on administrative leave and the incident will be investigated.
A Fairbanks police officer died two weeks ago due to complications after surgery after being shot in the line of duty on October 16. The suspect in that case was arrested three days after the shooting.
Tolley said the Fairbanks shooting was still fresh in his mind.
“This was only too similar, not just here in Alaska, but elsewhere in our nation,” he said about shootings of police officers. “This is unfortunate that people want to choose that as a way of life.”
