2 troopers hurt in Alaska standoff

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KOTZEBUE, Alaska, June 17 (UPI) -- Authorities in Alaska said they were in a standoff Sunday with a gunman who wounded one state trooper and left another injured either by a bullet or shrapnel.

State police spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said the trooper who was shot was hospitalized in stable condition and the second trooper was treated for a head injury and released, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The confrontation in Kotzebue began shortly after 9 a.m. when a man in a pickup truck brandished a gun and was still going several hours later, the newspaper said.

The two troopers were wounded when the gunman opened fire as they approached the truck on foot using the doors of a law enforcement vehicle as shields.

Ipsen said the troopers and Kotzebue police fired back, it wasn't clear if the suspect, who was still in the truck as of 4:30 p.m., was struck.