Two Alaska State Troopers were shot and killed in a confrontation on the dirt streets of an isolated Alaska village during an on-going investigation, the agency and a local shopkeeper said.
A spokeswoman, Megan Peters, for the police agency identified the slain men as Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson and trooper Gabriel "Gabe" Rich." According to the Associated Press, both worked out of the troopers' Fairbanks rural service unit.
One person has been confirmed as being detained, troopers said. No other details have been released about the incident.
Located in the Interior Alaska village of Tanana, no infrastructure of roads is available and travel is mainly restricted through aircrafts. Residents live a largely subsistence lifestyle.
They died Thursday in Tanana, a remote village in Alaska's interior, 130 miles west of Fairbanks and 281 miles north of Anchorage.
One of the troopers, Rich, had appeared on the National Geographic Channel program "Alaska State Troopers," Peters said Thursday. She was unsure about whether Johnson had been on the program.
"CNN affiliate KTVF reported that the officers had headed to the village to follow up on a report from the previous night of someone brandishing a gun," according to CNN. "The Alaska Dispatch website reported that the troopers were shot after an unarmed village public safety officer called for backup after an altercation involving the botched sale of a $150 couch."
The news site stated that after a lengthy standoff with heavily armed police, two people had been arrested.
"These fallen heroes answered the call to serve and protect, and made the ultimate sacrifice, while keeping our communities safe," Gov. Sean Parnell said in a statement. "May God and the loving support of grateful Alaskans bring comfort to the families of these courageous men."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 254 people live in Tanana, CNN reported.
