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RIT alum killed in Alaska shooting | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle
One of the two police officers fatally shot in a tiny Native village in southeast Alaska was a 2003 graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and a former campus security officer.
Tony Wallace, 32, left RIT in 2006. He has been an officer in Hoonah, Alaska, since 2008. He was on duty late Saturday when he was shot. Wallace died during surgery in Juneau, 40 miles to the east. Officer Matt Tokuoka, who was off-duty at the time, was also shot. He died early Sunday.
Mayor Windy Skaflestad said the suspect, John Marvin Jr., has barricaded himself in his Hoonah home. Skaflestad said a SWAT team was sent from Juneau, 40 miles to the east. It’s unclear what led to the shooting.
“Tony, who was hard-of-hearing, proved remarkable at many levels,” said RIT President William Destler in a statement to the campus community.
Wallace, who earned a degree in business administration, had been an All-American wrestler at RIT and was inducted into the RIT Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He was born with spinal meningitis that affected his hearing. Wallace, who could speak but also used American Sign Language, helped train area police officers in the academy about interacting with deaf people.
“I extend condolences to Tony’s family, friends and colleagues,” Destler said. “We recognize that his passing creates a void that cannot be filled, but we hope there is comfort in an outpouring of support. Efforts are underway to plan a memorial service to be held on campus, and details on that will be shared as soon as we have them.”
In an interview last year with RIT's University News, Wallace had said he hoped his accomplishments could be an inspiration for others.
“Anything and everything is possible,” Wallace had said. “It’s just a matter of how bad you want it and how far you are willing to go to prove to people that you are worthy of whatever career you want to pursue.”
One of the two police officers fatally shot in a tiny Native village in southeast Alaska was a 2003 graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and a former campus security officer.
Tony Wallace, 32, left RIT in 2006. He has been an officer in Hoonah, Alaska, since 2008. He was on duty late Saturday when he was shot. Wallace died during surgery in Juneau, 40 miles to the east. Officer Matt Tokuoka, who was off-duty at the time, was also shot. He died early Sunday.
Mayor Windy Skaflestad said the suspect, John Marvin Jr., has barricaded himself in his Hoonah home. Skaflestad said a SWAT team was sent from Juneau, 40 miles to the east. It’s unclear what led to the shooting.
“Tony, who was hard-of-hearing, proved remarkable at many levels,” said RIT President William Destler in a statement to the campus community.
Wallace, who earned a degree in business administration, had been an All-American wrestler at RIT and was inducted into the RIT Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He was born with spinal meningitis that affected his hearing. Wallace, who could speak but also used American Sign Language, helped train area police officers in the academy about interacting with deaf people.
“I extend condolences to Tony’s family, friends and colleagues,” Destler said. “We recognize that his passing creates a void that cannot be filled, but we hope there is comfort in an outpouring of support. Efforts are underway to plan a memorial service to be held on campus, and details on that will be shared as soon as we have them.”
In an interview last year with RIT's University News, Wallace had said he hoped his accomplishments could be an inspiration for others.
“Anything and everything is possible,” Wallace had said. “It’s just a matter of how bad you want it and how far you are willing to go to prove to people that you are worthy of whatever career you want to pursue.”
