An Alaska State Trooper shot and wounded a woman near Wasilla Friday night, after troopers say she pointed a weapon at the officer.
According to an online statement, troopers say the weapon looked like a semiautomatic handgun but it turned out to be a BB gun.
Troopers have not yet publicly identified the woman who was wounded. The trooper who shot her was identified Tuesday as Kody Haley, who has been with the agency for eight months.
Troopers said earlier in the night, the woman had repeatedly called 911 from her home in the Meadow Lakes area. Dispatchers sent Haley to check on her, according to agency spokesperson Austin McDaniel.
“The woman’s 911 calls left dispatchers with concern for the woman’s wellbeing,” McDaniel said.
Haley arrived at her home just before 10:30 p.m. and contacted the woman at the front door. No other troopers were present at the time, according to McDaniel.
“(Haley) made multiple requests for the female to exit the residence with her hands empty; however, instead, she produced a handgun and pointed it at the Trooper,” the online statement said. “The Trooper shot the female as a result of her actions.”
Medics responded to the scene and took the woman to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. Troopers said she was still hospitalized Tuesday.
Troopers said the woman’s weapon was a BB gun modeled on a semiautomatic handgun, which did not include an orange tip indicating that it wasn’t a full-scale firearm.
Haley was wearing a working body camera, according to McDaniel. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is currently examining the shooting.
Footage from the shooting will be released, McDaniel said, once the state Office of Special Prosecutions independently reviews the investigation “and any associated criminal trials are adjudicated.”
