Anchorage Police say they shot and killed a 16-year-old girl who approached officers with a knife days before she was to start her junior year of high school. A 911 caller first reported her sister had threatened her with a knife around 11:30pm Tuesday. Police said they arrived at the Greenbriar Apartments complex and repeatedly instructed Easter Leafa to drop the knife before she approached police, per KTUU. One officer fired multiple shots, while a second fired "a round with a less-lethal projectile" before Easter was pronounced dead at a hospital, said Police Chief Sean Case, who declared it a tragedy.
It's the department's sixth officer-involved shooting in three months, per the AP. "As police officers, we strive to protect human life and when we don't meet that goal, there's no other way to describe it than it's tragic," said Case. A neighbor said she heard Easter's family screaming after shots were fired. "We all started crying and tried to run towards her," a relative told KTUU. The outlet reported Easter and her mother had moved to Alaska from American Samoa about five months ago to join extended family in search of a better life.
Family members now question why lethal force was necessary. They say Easter had retreated to a balcony and covered herself with a blanket by the time police arrived. But officers "came in ready, looking like they were ready to [shoot] her down," sister Faialofa Dixon told KTUU. "The loss of a child is devastating," said Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, adding "we grieve together with the family." Case said it's up to officers to determine which tool to use "based on the circumstances in front of them." He added the department would "continue to look at our training, our tactics, as well as our supervision in these types of incidents to try to prevent future officer-involved shootings." The officers were wearing body cameras, though it's unclear when the footage might be released. (More police shooting stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
