Troopers say Wasilla cop on domestic call kills armed man

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Wasilla police officer assisting on a domestic violence case shot and killed a man who brandished a shotgun, Alaska State Troopers said Thursday.

Gage Southard, 26, of Palmer, died in the shooting, troopers said in a release.

The name of the Wasilla officer will be released after 72 hours, said department spokeswoman Amanda Graham, citing department policy.

Troopers said they responded to a report of a domestic disturbance early Thursday in a neighbourhood outside Palmer and arrived shortly after 2:30 a.m.

A woman walked out of the home with two children, troopers said. She had suffered “non-life-threatening injuries,” troopers said. The woman said Southard was inside the garage and was armed with a shotgun.

Moments later, troopers said Southard drove out of the garage in an SUV and drove away.

Wasilla police had been notified and an officer spotted Southard on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, where the officer and a trooper, attempted a traffic stop.

Southard drove into a ditch in a nearby neighbourhood, troopers said. He stepped out of the SUV with the shotgun, troopers said.

At about 2:50 a.m., the Wasilla officer shot Southard, who was taken by ambulance to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, where he died.

The troopers’ General Investigative Unit, with help from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, is reviewing the case.