The tragic deaths occurred on Tuesday afternoon. Local authorities received a report at 4:17 p.m. that shots were fired at a residence in Fairbanks, Alaska’s largest interior city with a population of just over 30,000. When troopers entered the home in the Skyridge Drive subdivision, they found four young men inside, dead from gunshot wounds.
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The children’s parents were not home at the time of the shooting, police said, but there were three other children at the residence who were not injured. Story continues below ad The three children who were not injured were all under the age of seven, and the dead were ages five, eight, 17 and 15, according to Alaska State Trooper spokesman Tim DeSpain. All the young men were brothers, DeSpain said. The preliminary investigation revealed that the 15-year-old shot three of his brothers before shooting himself. “He was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the police statement said.
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DeSpain said the gun was “a family gun, but beyond that, everything is still part of the ongoing investigation.” He could not say whether the 15-year-old had previous interactions with law enforcement, saying that would be part of the investigation. The question of motivation is also on the minds of researchers. Trending Stories
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The Bureau of Children’s Services has been notified of the incident and the four bodies are being taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, troopers said. Clinton Bennett, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Community Services, which includes Children’s Services, said by email that the office “will not be releasing any information due to rules and regulations regarding the confidentiality of all involved in specific cases.”
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Story continues below ad The office also “will not release any information pertaining to a case with an open investigation,” Bennett wrote. In Alaska, an average of 174 people die and 332 are injured by guns each year, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, an American nonprofit that advocates for the fight against gun violence. About 67 percent of gun deaths in Alaska are classified as suicides, while 25 percent are homicides, compared to national averages of 60 percent and 38 percent respectively. Alaska has the highest rate of gun deaths in the US — with files from The Associated Press 1:50 Illinois parade shooting leaves 2-year-old boy orphaned, covered in blood Previous Video Next Video © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
