This is a developing story.
A driver fatally shot another motorist he said was threatening him with what appeared to be a rifle shortly after midnight Monday in the roundabout at Mendenhall Loop Road and Stephen Richards Memorial Drive, according to the Juneau Police Department.
The 16-year-old male in the second vehicle was declared dead at the scene with a pellet/BB-style CO2 rifle in his possession, according to a JPD information release issued at 11:15 a.m. The 24-year-old male who fired the fatal shot was released following a preliminary investigation by JPD.
“Both drivers appear to have been unknown to each other before this incident,” the release notes.
JPD received a report about the shooting at 12:34 a.m. and closed the intersection during the initial investigation, with the department issuing a statement on its Facebook page at 5:40 a.m. that the road had been reopened.
The subsequent information release stated the 24-year-old man told police he was driving a 2001 GMC Jimmy that was being followed by a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, starting in the vicinity of the Safeway supermarket on Glacier Highway and ending up at the roundabout.
“After making several passes around the roundabout, the caller stopped his vehicle, and the other vehicle pulled up alongside,” the release states. “The caller reported that the other driver stayed in his vehicle, as did the caller. The caller said the other driver was upset, was yelling at him, and had what looked like a rifle in his hands. The caller said the other driver pointed the rifle at him, at which point, the caller pulled out a pistol and shot the other driver. The caller called JPD and waited at the scene for police to arrive.”
The deceased’s next of kin has been notified, according to JPD.
The most recent fatal non-police shooting in Juneau occurred July 6, 2023, when 23-year-old James T. Newman was found dead of a gunshot wound on Cinema Drive. Police arrested 44-year-old Andrew P. Lawrence a day later on suspicion of first-degree murder.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com.
