Alaska State Troopers fatally shot a man who shot and wounded a trooper in Kasilof after a four-hour standoff that started late last night. The injured trooper was treated at a Kenai Peninsula hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
In a Friday dispatch, Alaska’s Department of Public Safety said troopers responded to a 911 report around 10:20 p.m. Thursday. The caller reported a man yelling and shooting a gun near Crooked Creek Road.
Troopers said when they located the man, 32-year-old Mason Toloff, he threatened to shoot them. In response, troopers activated their Southern SWAT team, who took control of the scene.
Trooper Spokesperson Austin McDaniel says SWAT deployment was routine in this case.
“The troopers created a perimeter, and at that point the Alaska State Trooper SWAT team was activated, which would be a pretty standard procedure for somebody that has been discharging a weapon and then threatens to shoot officers and is not following their commands,” he said.
Troopers say they deployed a drone to survey the area, which Toloff shot at multiple times. After that, he shot a state trooper in the leg. Less than an hour later, around 2:30 a.m., troopers say Toloff pointed a shotgun at the law enforcement officers. Troopers say multiple SWAT officers then shot Toloff, who was declared dead at the scene.
Troopers say Toloff’s body is being sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy and that the incident is being investigated by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation. Once that investigation is finished, it will be reviewed by the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions.
McDaniel said Friday the number of officers who fired their weapons and the agencies they’re affiliated with is still being investigated.
“We're still, again, working to thoroughly investigate all of the actions that both this adult man took, as well as the law enforcement officers that were on scene,” he said.
McDaniel said the injured trooper has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
“We're again very, very grateful and thankful that the trooper only sustained non life threatening injuries, because that's not usually the case when a law enforcement officer is shot,” he said.
Last night’s shooting occurred roughly seven months after troopers shot and killed a man in a separate incident in Kasilof. In that case, troopers say the man charged them with a weapon.
McDaniel said he doesn’t know the last time a trooper sustained non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the line of duty. The last time a department employee was killed on the job was in 2022, when a muskox attacked and killed a Nome-based court services officer.
McDaniel says it’s “incredibly rare” for a trooper to be shot while on duty. He says the incident highlights the risks law enforcement face on the job.
“The trooper’s family and colleagues also really appreciate the outpouring of support that they've heard from community members, from government officials in support of this trooper, as well as all the law enforcement officers that responded to a pretty dynamic incident,” he said.
All officers who fired weapons during the shooting have been put on three days worth of administrative leave -- per department policy. The department will release their names in three days.
In a social media post Friday, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked Alaskans to keep the wounded trooper in their prayers.
