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Troopers in fatal officer-involved shooting ID'd

The state Department of Public Safety has identified the two Alaska State Troopers who were part of last weekend’s fatal officer-involved shooting near Fairbanks.A news release posted Tuesday says Trooper Brian Hibbs shot and killed the suspect who had fired at him and wounded another Trooper as the officers were serving search and arrest warrants at the suspect’s residence on the city’s North Side early Saturday morning.

The news release identified the wounded officer as Trooper Derek Cottle. He’s a former Airport Police officer who’s been with the state Department of Public Safety for seven months. He was treated for his wound at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and later released.

Hibbs, the other officer, has served with the department for eight years.  Both he and Cottle are assigned to the Fairbanks Trooper post.

The investigation continues into the shooting of 48-year-old Shawn Ray Wilson. He was charged with felony forgery and theft, and a warrant issued in March set bail at a $100,000 dollars.

Tim has worked in the news business for over three decades, mainly as a newspaper reporter and editor in southern Arizona. Tim first came to Alaska with his family in 1967, and grew up in Delta Junction before emigrating to the Lower 48 in 1977 to get a college education and see the world.