The stand-off that took up all of the day yesterday in Kotzebue ended fatally for the armed suspect Arvid Nelson Jr.

Yesterday at 9:15 am, Kotzebue police called on the Alaska State Troopers for assistance in responding to a report of a vehicle that had struck the guard rail on Ted Stevens Way betweeen First Bridge and Second Bridge. Trooper assistance was asked for because the driver of the vehicle had branished a weapon at a person that had driven by according to witnesses.

Troopers responded, and after arriving on-scene, approached the vehicle with caution, walking behind open vehicle doors as the trooper vehicle slowly made its way closer to the disabled vehicle and its occupant. The caution was well advised as soon gunfire erupted from the vehicle as shots were directed at the troopers appraoching behind the doors that they used as shields.

Two troopers were injured in the initial exchange. One trooper went down and was helped to safety by another. The officer was medevaced to Anchorage to be treated for his injuries. He is in stable condition. Another officer was struck as well. He was treated at a Kotzebue clinic and released for a grazing wound to the head.

After this initial skirmish, the nearby airport was closed and flights diverted or cancelled.

The Chief of Police in Kotzebue, who was at the scene during the shooting, decided the situation merited more help and the Southcentral Special Emergency Reaction Team was called in from Anchorage. That team, made up of Alaska State Troopers arrived on-scene at about 3 pm. After a little over an hour, the team began approaching the vehicle and its occupant, this time in a dump truck and front end loader.

Shots rang out from the dump truck, directed at the vehicle at one point in the late afternoon.

It wasn’t until about 6 pm that troopers were able to approach the vehicle and its occupant. When they finally did reach the vehicle, they found Nelson dead. He had died from an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound.

No motive for the shooting on the part of Nelso has been uncovered, the local hunter/trapper has had domestic issues according to residents, but whether those issues played a part in the incident are unknown.

Nelson’s next of kin have been notified.

The names of the officers involved in the shooting will not be released for 72 hours as is policy in officer related shootings.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigations is continuing the investigation into the incident.