During the early morning hours of Wednesday, at 12:19 am, the Fairbanks Alaska State Troopers received a call from a Salcha man saying he needed troopers to respond.

When troopers responded to the scene, they found that the man had brandished a weapon and had held two females hostages for a time before they were ultimately able to escape. After their escape, the man was the only person reported to be in the building.

It was reported that the man had threatened to harm himself as well as his two hostages. It was also related to the troopers that the man was intoxicated and under the influence of methamphetamines.

Three gunshots were heard emanating from the house after the troopers responded to the scene. The shots could be heard by both the troopers there and by dispatchers over the open phone line.

Members of the Northern Special Emergency Reaction Team also arrived at the scene and set up a perimeter.

The Richardson Highway was also closed off from Milepost 321 to Milepost 324 due to the proximity of the house to the roadway.

Throughout the incident, according to the trooper dispatch, negotiators attempted to convince the man to surrender peacefully.

A Tactical Response Vehicle was utilized to safely get troopers closer to the house to negotiate and to also use less-lethal tools on the suspect.

As the early morning hours progressed, the man was seen at the front window with a hand torch in his possession. A short time later, as the incident was near a close, the man told the dispatcher on the phone that “he wasn’t going to jail tonight,” and hung up the phone.

Shortly after he hung up the phone, the house caught on fire and the man exited through the rear of the burning home.

The currently unidentified man was apprehended at 6:55 am as he left the house.

No one was injured during the barracade situation. Charges against the man are pending. As is trooper policy, the man’s name will not be released until charges are filed.

The Richardson Highway reopened at 7:10 am.