On April 17, 1979, 32-year-old Juneau Police Department patrol officer Jimmy Earl Kennedy and fellow officer Richard J. Adair were killed when a man firing from a second-story window in the downtown highlands near Evergreen Avenue shot both officers in the head as their patrol car pulled up outside the suspect’s residence. Detective Mike Stickler was also wounded in the leg during the fusillade. The shooter, identified by city authorities as Louis Sorenson, remained inside the home; after the chief of police contained the scene and tear gas was deployed, Sorenson took his own life before Alaska State Troopers arrived, so no arrests were made in connection with the ambush.

Kennedy had served with the Juneau Police Department for about 18 months and was a Vietnam veteran. Services with military rites were held in Juneau, and he was later buried in Magee, Mississippi, where his hometown and colleagues continued to honor him. He is also listed on memorial pages for victims of gun violence and fallen law enforcement officers.

Did anyone in the Juneau area have contact with Officer Kennedy or remember the events around April 17, 1979?