Residents in the Southwest Alaska village of Chevak were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning after reports of an intoxicated man walking around with a gun. Tribal law enforcement officials say the reports were untrue.
Chevak residents were asked to stay indoors at 8 a.m Wednesday. The word went out via texts and VHF radio announcements, says Cecelia Chanerak of the Chevak Tribe.
“I just got like a text this morning at 8:00 and it ended like at 8:15. I just got a text and a phone call giving me an update for the people who had VHF’s," said Chanerak.
VHF is a communication technology commonly used in most rural villages.
The lockdown lasted about 15 minutes.
KYUK contacted the Chevak city office, but it would not release information. The residents KYUK contacted did not see the allegedly intoxicated person holding a gun, but Chevak Tribal Police Officer, Sergeant Smart says that it was a false report.
“It was false information that somebody reported. It wasn’t true," said Sgt. Smart.
State Troopers say that the individual has been identified, and have confirmed that there was no gun.