Update | Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m.
The man who jumped to his death from the third floor of the Dena’ina Center on Saturday was 49-year-old Anthony Choquette, the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
An Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman wrote in an email to the ADN that Choquette sustained “fatal injuries upon impact.” His next of kin have been notified.
Update | 5:53 p.m. – Jeremy Hsieh, KTOO
Suicide prevention was a topic at the convention on Friday. Jennifer Canfield, speaking on KTOO-FM, said that makes this incident especially painful.
“Just yesterday, John Baker, the musher, announced with Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, Gov. Walker — these people were all on the stage in support of John Baker’s initiative where he was signing people up to be wellness ambassadors to watch out for signs of suicide in the people that they love, the people that are around them,” she said.
The initiative came on the heels of a spate of suicides in Hooper Bay.
“This was a topic that was part of the convention, and I just think that makes this all the more hard to absorb,” Canfield said.
Update | 5:08 p.m. – Jeremy Hsieh, KTOO
Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Renee Oistad says the department is treating the incident as a suicide. She said it was an adult male who jumped, but would not disclose any other identifying information or details.
Original story | 4:59 p.m. – Jennifer Canfield, KTOO
(Photo by Mikko Wilson/KTOO)
In the final hour of the 2015 Alaska Federation of Natives convention Saturday, a man died after falling from the third floor of the Dena’ina Center. His body hit the first floor where hundreds of attendees were gathered. At first it sounded as if a gun had gone off.
On the third floor, many rushed to look over. Police were on the scene within a few minutes. AFN President Julie Kitka and a member of the board of directors spoke with an Anchorage police officer moments later.
The incident was announced to attendees in the main convention room.
Officials cordoned off the scene. Anchorage Police and Dena’ina Center staff evacuated parts of building. Events in the main convention room continued at first, though the convention was already winding down. An evening banquet has been canceled.
Marvin Roberts, a recently released member of the Fairbanks Four, took the stage minutes after the accident.
Co-chair Ana Hoffman invited a gospel singing group to the stage to offer comfort to those still in the main room. A dance group from Juneau finished out the convention.
Earlier, Dena’ina Center and AFN staff accosted an Alaska Dispatch News photojournalist, demanding he stop filming. Attendees on the first floor yelled at people taking pictures. Some tried to force the photojournalist’s camera away from him before APD intervened.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced a series of recent suicides in Point Hope. We regret the error.
