Alaska State Troopers say an Alakanuk teenager accidentally shot himself in his leg while walking along the Yukon River Thursday night, receiving minor injuries.
While a Saturday dispatch had reported that the incident was under investigation as a shooting, an update this week indicated that troopers had reached a different conclusion.
"After an extensive investigation, and reinterview with the 15-year-old on (Monday), it was determined that this was a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a hunting accident," troopers wrote.
Troopers first learned about the incident at about 11 a.m. Friday. “St. Mary's (troopers post) was notified that a 15-year-old male in Alakanuk had been shot in the left calf by what is believed to be a .22-caliber firearm as he was walking home alone from a hunting trip at about (6:30 p.m. Thursday),” troopers initially wrote. “The 15-year-old was flown to Bethel for medical treatment of a minor injury and has since been released.” High winds over the weekend had delayed investigators’ response to Alakanuk, with AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen saying troopers were headed to the village Monday to continue investigating the case. Channel 2’s Jim Schewe contributed information to this story.