Alaska: Armed Standoff Ends After Suspect Shoots Self

Armed Standoff Ends After Suspect Shoots Self

(Recasts with suspect's suicide)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska June 17 (Reuters) - An armed standoff in the northwest Alaska community of Kotzebue ended late Sunday when an armed suspect who allegedly shot and wounded two Alaska State Troopers, turned his gun on himself, officials said.

Arvid Nelson Jr. was found dead at about 6 p.m. local time in his truck in Kotzebue, an Inupiat community about 560 miles (901 km) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said.

The incident began early Sunday after Nelson's truck crashed into a guard rail on a road near Kotzebue airport. He opened fire on local police and brandished a weapon at a civilian driving by.

In the exchange of gunfire between Nelson and local Kotzebue police, two troopers were hit, officials said.

One trooper was flown to an Anchorage hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said. "He's going to be OK," she said. "They're not life-threatening injuries."

The second trooper was treated at the local clinic and released, she said.

The shooting occurred on Ted Stevens Way, located near the Kotzebue airport. The airport was closed for most of the day, but re-opened after Nelson's body was found, Ipsen said.

Law-enforcement officers, including specialists flown in from the Anchorage area, spent most of the day responding to the standoff, Ipsen said.

She said she had no information to release on Nelson's background or possible motives.

Kotzebue, a community of 3,200 on the Chukchi Sea, is about 26 miles (42 km) north of the Arctic Circle.

Alaska state court records list an Arvid Nelson of Kotzebue as a 51-year-old with minor driving and curfew violations. (Reporting by Yereth Rosen; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Stacey Joyce)

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