Anchorage woman found dead in her home after standoff with police and SWAT team

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A woman who confronted a neighbor with a long gun in her hand died following a standoff with Anchorage police in which both she and a SWAT officer fired their weapons, officials said Thursday.

A state medical examiner will determine the woman’s cause of death and the shooting is under investigation, Anchorage police said in a statement. Further details about the death were not immediately available.

The armed woman and an unarmed neighbor got into an argument on Wednesday. The neighbor told police he was afraid of being physically hurt.

The woman with the long gun retreated into her house before officers arrived.

She ignored officers’ attempts to leave the house, police said. Several officers, including SWAT officers, went to the East Anchorage home.

Tear gas was used to lure them out of the house. “The suspect remained uncooperative and fired several shots inside the house,” the statement said.

A SWAT officer fired a gun from outside the home. When police searched the house, they found the woman dead. There was no one else in the house, police said.

The state’s Office of Special Prosecutions will determine whether the officer’s use of force was justified.

The Associated Press