Police arrest Alaska man for series of machete and gun attacks

Police detained a man who killed two people and seriously injured three others in a series of machete and gun attacks.

Photo: Police arrest Alaska man for series of machete and gun attacks

Police stopped Christopher Erin Rogers Jr., 28, on Monday in Anchorage by ramming the stolen sport utility vehicle he was driving, police spokesman Lt. Paul Honeman said.

Rogers, who was being held on $1 million (680 million EUR) bail, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder. An arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday.

The public defender's office in Palmer, which has previously represented Rogers, said it had not received paperwork to appoint him an attorney.

According to an affidavit, Rogers used a machete to kill his 51-year-old father, Christopher E. Rogers Sr., and seriously injure his father's 55-year-old girlfriend, Elann Moren, early Sunday in Palmer, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Anchorage.

Rogers traveled to Anchorage after the attack in his father's truck. He took a .357 revolver and ammunition from the vehicle, the affidavit said. Once there, Rogers abandoned the truck and went in search of another vehicle, it said.

He shot Jason Wenger, 27, a graduate student at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, while Wenger was sitting in an idling vehicle in his driveway, according to the affidavit. Rogers opted not to take Wenger's vehicle because the shots made a lot of noise and he "did not want to take on the whole neighborhood," it said.

Rogers spent the rest of Sunday sleeping in the woods near downtown Anchorage, the affidavit said. He told officers at that point he was no longer worried about being caught and "just wanted to kill a few more people along the way," it said.

Rogers shot Liz Rumsey, 33, as she walked along an icy trail near a quiet upper-middle-class neighborhood north of Westchester Lagoon. Rumsey underwent surgery and is expected to recover, police said.

On Monday morning, Rogers repeatedly shot Tamas Deak after Deak turned on his car and left it to idle, police said. Deak, 43, was hospitalized in critical condition but was expected to survive, police said.

Deak's wife called authorities, and police sent at least 50 detectives and patrol officers to the area. Police arrested Rogers after a short car chase through Anchorage during the morning rush.