A 30-year-old Black male, Staff Sergeant Julian Christopher Francis Jr., died on April 9, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska, after being shot. He was found by police responding to a gunshot-call around 8:30 a.m. at a business park near the Anchorage international airport.
Francis Jr. served in the U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, as a member of the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division.
He had trained in various locations, including Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Fort Lee, Virginia, and earlier was stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In 2017 he completed the Army Airborne Course at Fort Benning and later served at Fort Bragg before returning to Alaska in 2020.
The suspect identified was a 22-year-old male, Brent A. Smith. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder in connection with Francis Jr.'s shooting death. According to a criminal complaint, witnesses saw Francis Jr. near an indoor pool at the Hyatt House hotel in Midtown Anchorage, in the company of others, when Smith arrived in a white sedan, pulled a handgun, shot Francis Jr., then fled. Later the vehicle—described as a white 2013 Toyota Corolla matching witness descriptions—was located, and Smith was arrested.
Smith was being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on bail set at $750,000. The motive for the shooting remained unclear. Next-of-kin notification procedures regarding Francis Jr.'s death were completed shortly after the arrest. Francis Jr. is survived by his wife, children, parents, siblings, and many extended family members.
