Alaska State Troopers said a 24-year-old Homer man fatally shot himself with a trooper's pistol during a struggle Wednesday night.
About 10:17 p.m., a woman reported to troopers that her ex-boyfriend had assaulted her at her home on East End Road near Homer, according to a trooper dispatch posted Thursday morning. She also said she was able to leave the home in a vehicle.
A trooper responded. According to the dispatch, the suspect, identified as Aaron Michael Rael-Catholic of Homer, rammed his vehicle into the victim's vehicle at Mile 4 of East End Road.
Rael-Catholic then left his vehicle, and a struggle ensued between him and the trooper, according to the dispatch.
Pepper spray and a Taser were deployed in an attempt to subdue Rael-Catholic, the dispatch said, and Rael-Catholic and the trooper "ended up wrestling on the ground."
"During this struggle, preliminary information is Rael-Catholic obtained possession of the state troopers' pistol and fatally shot himself," the dispatch said. "The specific actions of how the fatal gunshot wound occurred remain under review."
The State Medical Examiner's office is expected to perform an autopsy this week.
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