A Tuluksak man shot three people, including a tribal police officer Wednesday evening.
Megan Peters, a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers says 20-year-old Gerald Lamont shot a family member in the face with a 20-gauge shotgun containing birdshot. He then walked through the village with the shotgun.
“He did shoot a tribal police officer in the back and shot a third person in the head area. Multiple community members were shot at, but were not hit by the birdshot,” said Peters.
None of the victims had major injuries. Troopers flew to Tuluksak to find Lamont still armed.
“Immediately when he saw troopers he dropped the shotgun and fled. Troopers were able to locate him an hour later and take him into custody without incident. Fortunately there were no serious injuries reported, all the victims declined to have medical attention,” said Peters.
Lamont was taken to the jail in Bethel and held without bail. He faces charges of attempted murder, assault, and weapons misconduct. Troopers don’t believe alcohol was involved.
Separately, in Tununak Wednesday afternoon, a tribal police officer reported to troopers that a man in the village was firing a handgun in the air. Peters says 27-year-old Greg Angaiak reportedly walked throughout the community while firing the gun.
“During that incident he went into a local store and stole a couple boxes of ammunition. He reloaded his firearm and continued to fire off the weapon while he was walking throughout the community,” said Peters.
Troopers flew out and arrested Angaiak without incident. School was still in session. Leaders locked the doors and kept students in their classrooms for a couple hours until the threat was cleared. Troopers don’t believe alcohol was involved in that case.
Ben Matheson is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.
