16-Year-Old Charged with Murder After Shooting 2 Adults, Injuring 2 in Point Hope, Alaska

16 years old shooting Alaska detained

By Jackelyn Cornejo , Parent Herald Feb 29, 10:55 pm

A 16-year-old is facing charges for supposedly killing two people and injuring two others in a shooting occurrence in Alaska on Sunday night, as outlined in court documents filed on Monday.

16-Year-Old Shots 2 Adult, Injures 2 More

The teenager is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in relation to the occurrence, which has flustered Point Hope, a distant Inupiat whaling community along Alaska's northwest coast, bordering the Chukchi Sea.

North Slope Borough police reacted to a shooting report at a home around 11:35 p.m. Two individuals were found dead, and two others were seriously injured, all casualties of gunshot bruises, according to court records from the Second Judicial District at Kotzebue. Police did not provide updates on the condition of the injured victims.

One witness informed the police that they observed the 16-year-old entering the home with a handgun and initiating the shooting, while another witness reported seeing the armed teen fleeing in a vehicle.

Within 10 minutes, the teen arrived at the Point Hope police station with his father, who stated that his son had confessed to shooting the four victims. Subsequently, the 16-year-old was detained, according to court documents.

As of Tuesday, the cause of the shooting stands uncertain. The teen is being considered as an adult in the legal dealings, according to the Alaska Department of Law. The identity of the minor was not voiced by NBC News, persistent with their policy.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy conveyed havoc over the dreadful occurrence and offered condolences to the distressed families.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah A. Patkotak guaranteed the public that the shooting was a secluded incident, and there is no ongoing danger to the community.

The Point Hope Tikigaq School will be closed temporarily, according to Patkotak, although the relevance to the shooting was not clarified. The incident is currently under investigation.

Police Investigates the Point Hope Shooting Incident

Point Hope, with a population of approximately 675, is situated on a triangular spit of land extending into the Chukchi Sea, about 700 miles northwest of Anchorage and 200 miles from Russia.

It has a rich history as one of the longest continually inhabited Inupiat areas in North America, with residents engaging in bowhead whaling for over 2,000 years.

The town, surrounded by a fence made of whale bones, relies on a state-owned airstrip and summer barges for supplies.

Subsistence hunts for bowhead whales and the use of firearms for hunting are common among residents. Shootings are not unprecedented, with a police officer fatally shooting a man in Point Hope in May of the previous year.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak mentioned the borough fire department flying in emergency medical services staff from other communities to support Point Hope, recognizing potential trauma among local responders.

Maniilaq Association, a nonprofit providing health and social services, sent behavioral health counselors to assist Point Hope residents.