ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The shooting deaths of two Alaska State Troopers devastated their colleagues, who face the same dangers and vulnerabilities as they patrol a tough terrain and remote villages dotted throughout the state.
“This will take us a long time to heal,” trooper Col. James Cockrell said Friday. “The department is totally focused more on the families involved. This is a tragedy for them. It’s totally unexpected.”
The slayings of Trooper Gabriel “Gabe” Rich, 26, and Sgt. Patrick “Scott” Johnson, 45, Thursday in the isolated community of Tanana underscored the challenges law enforcement faces in this huge state. Like many troopers assigned to patrol multiple villages, Rich and Johnson were not based in the interior community of 238 people. They worked out of the troopers’ Fairbanks rural service unit 130 miles to the east, and they had to reach Tanana by plane.
A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing of Rich and Johnson, both of whom had appeared on a cable TV reality show about the Alaska State Troopers. Formal charges against Nathanial Lee Kangas of Tanana were being prepared by troopers with the state Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals. The troopers said they believe he used a semi-automatic rifle in the shootings, which are still under investigation.