Alaska man arrested for alleged killing of off-duty village police officer
ANCHORAGE AK Aug 3 2017 A village police officer was shot and killed on Sunday, and Alaska State Troopers have arrested a man for first degree murder after the suspect was identified by witnesses.
Troopers initially responded to a residence in Napaskiak at around 8:30 on Sunday morning. They had reportedly received a call of a shooting. There, they say, “investigation revealed Adam Williams, 19 of Napaskiak, shot and killed Kyle Wassillie, 26 of Nunapitchuk.”
The victim, Wassillie, was a village police officer in Nunapitchuk, however at the time of the shooting, he was not working in his capacity as a law enforcement officer. “He was on his own time,” said Roman Daniel, VPO Chief in Nunapitchuk. “The incident was not police-related, and he wasn’t working as an officer when he died.”
According to Megan Peters, a spokesperson with Alaska State Troopers, the shooting took place around 8:10 a.m. in a private residence belonging to a family member of Williams.
“Both the suspect and victim were reportedly intoxicated when the two got into a fight. The fight ended after the suspect shot the victim with a rifle,” Peters said in an email. “The incident was witnessed and a VPSO was notified. The VPSO responded, detained the suspect and secured the scene until the Trooper arrived. CPR was attempted but [Wassillie] succumbed to his injuries on scene. A trooper from Bethel responded in a boat.”
The exact nature of the intoxicated fight, and the relationship between the suspect, Williams, and the victim, Wassillie, remain unknown at this time. However, Daniel says that he knew the victim well, and worked with him for years.
“He was well-liked. I’ll never forget him, he was always joking and could always make you laugh,” Daniel said. He also called Wasillie an avid outdoors man, adding that the two of them would occasionally go on hunting trips together.
KTUU
