Two Alaska State Troopers killed in line of duty
TANANA, Alaska - Two Alaska State Troopers were killed Thursday while conducting an investigation in the Interior Alaska village of Tanana, authorities said,
One person has been detained, she said.agency spokeswoman Megan Peters said.The troopers had gone to Tanana, west of Fairbanks, to follow up on a Wednesday night report that someone "had brandished a firearm in the village," Peters said, adding she had no immediate details of what happened.
Shots were fired somewhere in the town at about 3 p.m. Thursday, Tanana resident Mary Edwin told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Other troopers had responded to Tanana by 6 p.m., said Edwin, a former schools superintendent.
An Alaska Bureau of Investigation crew was headed to Tanana, Peters said.
The troopers were not immediately identified pending notification of relatives.
Tanana has a population of about 238 people and is located about 130 miles west of Fairbanks. There is no highway leading to the community.
Because of its location 2 miles west of the junction of the Tanana and Yukon rivers, the community was a trading post for Koyukon and Tanana Athabascans long before European contact, according to a state website.
Community members continue to live a traditional Athabascan lifestyle, including hunting and fishing for their food.