Troopers shoot, kill Nikolaevsk man in confrontation

A Nikolaevsk man is dead after Alaska State Troopers shot him during a confrontation Saturday.

Nikolai Yakunin, 42, was pronounced dead on scene after being shot. Troopers had originally responded to a call from a third party that Yakunin had contacted a woman he was prohibited from contacting on conditions of felony probation, according to an online trooper dispatch.

When troopers reached him at a home in Nikolaevsk around 7:07 p.m. Saturday, Yakunin allegedly attacked the first trooper, “injuring him and incapacitating him where the Trooper was unable to adequately defend himself,” the dispatch states.

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More troopers arrived on scene to help the injured trooper, but when the first arrived, Yakunin allegedly kept up assaultive behavior and was shot t”to prevent further assaults on any Trooper or bystander,” the dispatch states.

Yakunin was pronounced dead on scene, the dispatch states. His next of kin has ben notified. The injured trooper wast taken to South Peninsula Hospital. Per Alaska Department of Public Safety protocol, Alaska Bureau of Investigation will conduct the investigation and the troopers that fired their guns were placed on 72-hour administrative leave with their names withheld. Homer Police Department officers responded as well, according to the initial dispatch.

—Staff report

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