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Firefighter Killed In Accidental Shooting

ANCHORAGE – Police on Wednesday identified the man killed in an apparently accidental shooting Tuesday as a 26-year-old Anchorage firefighter. Police say Elliott Taylor and a friend had just returned from shooting and were cleaning their weapons Tuesday evening when the friend’s handgun fired a round that went through his hand and hit Taylor in the lower abdomen.

Neighbor Kurt Spencer said he tried to provide first aid until a fire department crew arrived. Taylor was rushed to emergency surgery at Alaska Native Medical Center, where he died.

Police have not named the friend, saying prosecutors have not yet decided whether he will face criminal charges.

Taylor, a former U.S. Marine, was a three-year veteran of the Anchorage Fire Department. Fire Chief Mark Hall said the department is mourning his loss.

“He was just a fine, outstanding young man,” Hall said. “He had a great family ethic. True to form, he came out one of the top two kids in the fire academy and he was just one of the best ones we’ve had.”