Two Hoonah police officers died after being shot Saturday night. The alleged shooter remains in his house, surrounded by law-enforcement officers.
The officers have been identified as 32-year-old Sergeant Anthony Wallace and 39-year-old patrol officer Matt Tokuoka. Both died of wounds inflicted by a single gunman. The suspect is identified as John Marvin Jr., a 45-year-old local resident. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Interim city administrator Bob Prunella calls the shooting an “ambush.” He says Juneau Police and Alaska State Troopers are on the scene.
“We called in the SWAT team and about 10 officers from Juneau came in by boat,” said Prunella. “It’s ongoing and they’re trying to resolve the situation with the guy, trying to get him to come out.”
He says the shootings took place between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Saturday.
Prunella says it’s a difficult situation for the whole community.
Hoonah police were not releasing any further information about the shootings. Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters would only say they are dealing with a barricaded suspect.
Hoonah, a city of about 800 residents, is 40 miles west of Juneau on northern Chichagof Island. Before the shootings, it had two active police officers and a third in training, in addition to a police chief.
We’ll have further details as they develop