Information Slow to Leak on Officer-Involved Fatal Shooting in Barrow

There was a fatal shooting in Barrow on Wednesday. According to the North Slope Borough Mayor’s office, the incident happened around 4 in the morning.

A North Slope Borough Police Officer was responding to a call for assistance when the shooting took place. The Mayor’s office identified the victim as Vincent Nageak III.

John Boyle, the North Slope Borough’s Director of Government and External Affairs, confirmed that the officer involved in the shooting was not injured, but his name will not be released for 72 hours, as per department policy.

Nageak was the nephew of Alaska State Representative Ben Nageak. On the senate floor on Wednesday, Senator Donny Olson from the Bering Strait region expressed his condolences.

“Last night, there was a tragedy up in Barrow when Vincent Nageak, a Middle East veteran, served his country over there, as well a fire chief for the volunteer fire department, passed away.” Olson explained that the victim was Rep. Nageak’s favorite nephew. “This morning, when I went and told Ben,” Olson explained, “obviously, they were very broken up by that, so I just want us to be especially sensitive toward Ben and his family at this time.”

Nageak, age 36, was a lifetime resident of Barrow. According to a close friend who declined to be named, he came from a large and loving family. Along with serving as fire chief, he also worked for the Department of Corrections in Barrow for over 10 years.

In a statement, Representative Ben Nageak says the family “still [doesn’t] know all the facts.” He says they’re trying to get home to be near and find out what happened. Rep. Nageak also expressed thanks for the support of his family.

Nageak’s father told KTUU he originally thought the fatal shot was self-inflicted. He said [the North Slope Borough police] wouldn’t tell his family what was going on and wouldn’t let him see his son’s body.

He also told KTUU that, as of late Wednesday, he still hadn’t received information from the police about what happened to his son. He said he learned about his son’s death through the media.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation arrived on the scene in Barrow Wednesday afternoon.

Nageak’s next of kin have been notified. His body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy.

KNOM will continue to follow this story as it develops. This story had help from KNOM’s Laura Kraegel.