A 16-year-old girl shot dead in an officer-involved shooting Tuesday night in Anchorage, Alaska has been identified as a Samoan, Easter Leafa.
KTUU-TV reports that, according to the Anchorage Police Department, the shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when police were called to an apartment complex. The caller said her sister was threatening her and had a knife.
The family later identified the deceased as Easter Leafa.
After arriving at the apartment, the officers directed commands toward Leafa who approached officers while holding the knife, according to APD.
Anchorage School District officials released a statement Tuesday morning by Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt confirming that a high school student in the district was the one shot and killed by police.
In a press conference on Wednesday morning, Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case said one officer fired multiple times at Leafa. Another officer fired a “less lethal projectile.”
Medics took the teen to the hospital, where she was declared dead.
Case described the shooting as “tragic,” saying the shooting victim — Leafa — was about to start her junior year of high school.
