Federal and state authorities are currently investigating an apparent double homicide involving two members of the Coast Guard, who were shot dead on one of the many islands off the Alaskan coast. The homicides prompted the Coast Guard to lock down its base and nearby school schools.
A Coast Guard statement said the shooter could still be at large. An FBI spokesman said they are treating is as a double murder. He said the killings took place inside the communication center of the Coast Guard on Kodiak Island.
State troopers, island police, the FBI and the Coast Guard, are investigating the incident. The victims were Richard Belisele, a civilian, who was retired from the Coast Guard and James Hopkins a Petty Officer and electronics technician.
The Coast Guard base is located on the second largest island in all the U.S. that has a population of 13,600. The Coast Guard base has 60 people who normally are on base.
The local population talked in restaurants across the island about who might have killed the two victims, though no one said they were sure what the truth was. The townspeople on the island are very worried about the killings and the Peterson Elementary School was locked down after military police call school officials. By mid morning Friday, the school was changed to a lock in mode meaning more movement was allowed within the school grounds, though students remained in their classes through lunch and no outsiders were permitted on campus grounds.
