No charges yet in shooting death of Barrow whaling captain

The Fairbanks district attorney's office is reviewing the police investigation of a fatal shooting in Barrow last week.

Billy Jens Leavitt, 43, was shot dead on Thursday. Leavitt was a whaling captain and the son of Oliver Leavitt, a prominent Barrow resident, whaling captain, and former treasurer and chairman of the board of Arctic Slope Regional Corp., one of Alaska's largest homegrown companies.

Fairbanks District Attorney Gregg Olson said his office knows who killed Leavitt but that no charges have yet been brought against the person.

"The shooter has been identified," Olson said.

Police took a call at 5:13 a.m. Thursday from a man who said a shooting occurred at 5397 Laura Maddison St. in Barrow, said David Fauske, the borough’s director of government and external affairs, on Thursday.

Fauske could not be reached on Monday for further details.

On Thursday he said “the borough’s thoughts and prayers are with the families as they and our community deal with this tragedy."

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) posted thoughts of condolences to the Leavitt family on her Facebook page last week.

"I've known the Leavitt family for years and am comforted by the fact that their friends and family in Barrow, and our larger Alaska family, are with them," the senator wrote.

The victim is listed on the North Slope Borough Search and Rescue website as a coordinator for the department. A woman who answered the phone at the Search and Rescue Department referred all questions about Leavitt to Fauske.