An Alaska State Trooper in Fairbanks fatally shot a man early Friday after he pointed what looked like an assault rifle at the officer, according to a written trooper report.
According to the report, a trooper in Fairbanks spotted 23-year-old Dimitri Lanahan, of Anchorage, around 2:40 a.m. Friday driving a Jeep recklessly near the Gold Rush Estates Trailer Park.
“The silver Jeep nearly collided with a marked Trooper patrol vehicle, forcing the Trooper to take evasive action,” said the trooper report.
The trooper tried to pull Lanahan over, but he refused to stop, said the report.
The trooper followed the Jeep to a wooded area between the Fairbanks Airport and the Tanana River flood dike. Lanahan then got out and pointed “what appeared to be an assault rifle” at the trooper, according to the report.
The trooper shot Lanahan, who was declared dead at the scene.
Troopers said further investigation revealed that Lanahan’s assault rifle was a replica. It was “designed to look like an assault rifle and did not have any markings that readily distinguished it from a firearm,” according to the trooper report.
On Monday, a trooper spokesman said Lanahan had a paintball gun. The spokesman sent Alaska Public Media a photo of the same model of paintball gun Lanahan is said to have brandished.
Also, troopers said the Jeep and its license plates had been reported stolen in Anchorage and that there was a felony arrest warrant out for Lanahan for a 2nd-degree escape charge.
No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
On Monday, troopers identified the officer who fired the gun as Trooper Garrett Stephens, a one-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers assigned to Fairbanks patrol.
Note: This story has been updated with additional information from Alaska State Troopers.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
