Dan Richard Seely, a 39-year-old senior patrol officer with badge number 803, was killed on October 26, 1996, in Anchorage during what began as a domestic-violence warrant service. A ten-year veteran of the Anchorage Police Department, he had volunteered to handle the warrant for a man who had returned to his estranged family’s Chugiak-area home that morning. When Officer Seely entered, the suspect momentarily left and then came back armed and wearing a concealed shoulder holster. The suspect opened fire down a hallway and shot Officer Seely in the face at close range; Officer Seely died at Providence Hospital within the hour.

After ambushing the officer, the gunman went to a nearby house where his estranged wife had taken refuge with their two young children. There he killed his five-year-old daughter and four-year-old son, critically wounded his wife, and then died by suicide at the scene. The suspect was publicly named as Paul Ely Jr. The events left no opportunity for arrest or prosecution and closed the criminal timeline the same day.

Officer Seely was remembered for stepping forward on a volatile domestic call; his name appears on police memorials as a reminder of the danger such responses can entail. If anyone knew Officer Seely or has information about the October 26, 1996 incident, please share what can help document his service and that day’s timeline.