On July 26, 2022, eight-year-old Ryker Mott was one of four children shot dead inside a home in the Skyridge Drive Subdivision outside Fairbanks. Alaska State Troopers responded after a neighbor reported hearing gunfire in the late afternoon, with one dispatch cited at 4:17 p.m. Three younger siblings under seven were found alive and uninjured, while three children aged 5, 8, and 17 and a 15-year-old who investigators say was the shooter were found dead of gunshot wounds and taken to the State Medical Examiner.

Troopers reported the parents were away when the shooting occurred. Investigators identified the weapon as a family gun and said how it was accessed remained under review. The state’s Office of Children’s Services was notified to assist the surviving children. Authorities concluded the incident as a murder-suicide by the 15-year-old, leaving no suspect to charge, and did not provide a motive in their statements.

Ryker’s death is part of a larger family tragedy that left a community mourning. If anyone has information about the house on Skyridge Drive, the family’s children that night, or how the firearm was stored and accessed, please share what is known.