Talkeetna man found shot dead in driveway

TALKEETNA — A 43-year-old Talkeetna man was found dead in a driveway off the Parks Highway Thursday evening after the Palmer Police Department received a call that a man had been shot, Alaska State Troopers report.

The man, whose identity was being withheld while next of kin could be located, was found after police responded to a 911 call at 5:29 p.m., a troopers report says. Troopers from Talkeetna and Palmer responded, and upon arriving found the man deceased in a driveway to a residence on Twenty Inch Avenue, near Mile 88 of the Parks Highway.

The report says troopers interviewed witnesses at the scene, including a 43-year-old man walking in the area who provided an account of the shooting. Witnesses are cooperating with the investigation and, after consulting with the Palmer District Attorney’s Office, authorities have decided not to arrest or criminally charge anyone at this time.

The ABI is investigating the shooting as a homicide, said Megan Peters, spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety. Classifying the investigation as a homicide means investigators likely believe others besides the victim were involved, she said.

The initial troopers report does not specify how many times or where the man was shot. It also doesn’t say whether the deceased man was in his own driveway or on another’s property, and Peters also didn’t have that information immediately available.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.