Anchorage police have identified the suspect killed in a shootout Sunday after he reportedly rammed police vehicles in a stolen truck and fired shots at authorities with a firearm that did not belong to him.
A preliminary investigation indicates 33-year-old John Martin Whittaker died from shots fired by Anchorage Police Department officers. Per department policy, the two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on leave and their names will be withheld for 72 hours, according to an APD statement.
Whittaker had a warrant for his arrest for parole violation stemming from a felony weapons misconduct conviction, police said. He led police on a chase after APD received a report of an erratic driver in the Russian Jack area Sunday morning. When authorities tried to stop Whittaker, he went into a snow bank and rammed patrol vehicles with the Ford F-250 before fleeing the scene.
Officers located him again near 15th Avenue and Medfra Street, where he got out of the truck and pointed the stolen gun at police. Shots were fired by both Whittaker and the two officers. Whittaker then approached a nearby residence, and he was fatally struck near the home.
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Both the truck and the gun are being held as evidence, said APD spokeswoman Anita Shell. The case remains under investigation and authorities ask anyone with information to contact APD homicide detective James Trull at 786-2681.
–This is a developing story.