A shooting in Alaska on late Friday night left a woman seriously injured after she pointed a realistic BB gun at an officer. At around 10:26 pm, Alaska State Troopers responded to a home in the Meadow Lakes area west of Wasilla for a welfare check.
The woman had made multiple 911 calls, prompting the trooper’s arrival at the residence to assess the situation. Troopers said the officer made contact with the woman at the front door and asked her several times to come outside unarmed.
Instead of complying, the woman raised what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun and aimed it directly at the trooper. In response, the officer fired their weapon, striking the woman, who immediately collapsed and sustained life-threatening injuries, according to officials.
Paramedics transported her to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment following the incident. Upon further examination, investigators determined the weapon was a BB gun, which lacked the standard orange safety tip.
Troopers released a photo of the gun, noting its strong resemblance to an actual handgun used by law enforcement. The trooper involved in the shooting wore a functioning body camera during the incident as required by Alaska State Troopers’ policy.
Officials have placed the officer on mandatory seven-day administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome. Following standard procedure, authorities will release the trooper’s name three days after the incident, the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation has assumed control of the case and will submit its findings to the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions. Officials emphasized that the shooting occurred only after the woman aimed what appeared to be a deadly weapon directly at the officer.
