Tribe governor identifies woman killed in deadly Gila River police officer shooting

SANTAN, AZ (AZFamily) — The second victim in a shooting that also killed Gila River Police Officer Josh Briese has been identified.

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said in a written statement issued Monday that 23-year-old Alicen Apkaw died at the hospital.

He said he talked to her family about her and the tragedy.

“They told me how much Alicen loved her family, and how much they want unity, positivity, and peace to come from this tragedy. Alicen worked for the Community’s San Tan casino in our housekeeping department, where her work family also is taking her loss very hard,” he said. “From all I have learned about Alicen since her death, she was a beloved daughter and sister, a loyal friend and co-worker, fast to laugh, hard-working, joyous and supportive. To lose a young woman like Alicen, in the prime of her life, is a loss I can only describe as devastating.”

The full statement can be read at the bottom of the article.

Apkaw was also an employee of Gila River Resorts & Casinos, which also released a statement about her passing:

The Gila River Police Department says a 911 call about a disturbance involving a large crowd at a home in Santan, about 30 minutes south of downtown Phoenix, came in around 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Joshua Briese, who had been with the Gila River Police Department for less than a year and had not completed field training, responded to the scene along with another tribal police officer.

Police said multiple gunshots were fired, and both officers were struck, along with four other people.

Briese and Apkaw both died at the hospital.

The other officer, whose name hasn’t been released, was listed in serious but stable condition, according to police.

Investigators said two people are in custody in connection to the shooting.

Arizona’s Family asked for an update on the case on Monday, but we were told that U.S. Department of Justice guidelines do not allow updates to be shared on active investigations.

Stan Kephart is a retired police chief for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

“Everybody wants to know what happened; the community especially wants to know what happened. And we’re deserving of that information, but we don’t want to be premature and close on the ability to strengthen this case and make it an absolutely solid case,” Kephart explained.

Kephart says that in situations like this, the FBI and the Gila River Police Department conduct parallel investigations.

“The timeline is as long as it takes to get this case resolved and taken to the United States Attorney’s Offices tight as it can be,” he said.

As a result of the shooting, the Gila River Indian Community Council unanimously passed a temporary ban on all dances.

See below for the full statement from Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis:

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