An Aniak man is in jail on Murder and Attempted Murder charges after an extended shooting incident in that village early Sunday morning.

Aniak-based Troopers were notified of a shooting in the community at 2:19 am on Sunday morning. Troopers took 29-year-old Joseph Patrick Yaska into custody.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation and the Bethel Violent Offenders Unit responded later Sunday morning to conduct an investigation. During the investigation, investigators found that Yaska first shot a family member as they were fleeing the house. Following that initial shooting, Yaska then turned his weapon on a non-family member, fatally injuring them. AST did not divulge the identities of either victim.

Yaska then moved to a nearby residence, where he continued to fire his weapon, almost hitting multiple people there.

Yaska was transported to Bethel and remanded at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Facility following his arrest. He is being held on Murder I, Attempted Murder I, Misconduct Involving Weapons II, Assault III x3, and Assault IV x2.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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