On August 27, 2017, in the small Kuskokwim River community of Aniak, a 24-year-old male, Alaskan Native Bruce “Gotor” Morgan, was shot and killed as he sat in his pickup truck in the early morning darkness. Neighbors later described a quiet town jolted awake by volleys of gunfire; witnesses told investigators that shots were first fired from a porch and then at closer range into the truck's passenger seat where the 24-year-old male victim sat.
The gun used was an AK-47, and the bursts echoed through the neighborhood as people scrambled for cover.
According to court documents summarized by local reporters, the violence began after 2 a.m., when 29-year-old Aniak resident Joseph Yaska returned home intoxicated. He assaulted his girlfriend, then retrieved an AK-47 and, as she fled, shot her twice—wounding her but not killing her. He then turned the rifle outward toward the neighborhood, firing into homes and at people on the street and ultimately at the truck where the 24-year-old male victim, Bruce “Gotor” Morgan, was sitting. Residents reported hearing three volleys of shots before the chaos subsided.
With no village police on duty and only one Alaska State Trooper in town that night, Trooper Anthony Wiles was awakened by neighbors, evacuated nearby homes, and moved through the area until he located and arrested Yaska. In the immediate aftermath, Alaska State Troopers identified the dead as the 24-year-old male victim, Bruce Morgan, and the wounded woman as Jessica Lee, and said Yaska had been jailed in Bethel. He was arraigned in Aniak, facing charges that included first-degree murder and attempted murder, as well as assault and weapons misconduct.
Aniak rallied around the victim's family as investigators gathered statements and evidence. In October 2017 the community held a crowded Forty Day Feast—moose, turkey, and akutaq served in remembrance—as friends and relatives spoke about the 24-year-old male victim's warmth, athleticism, and generosity, and tried to make sense of the senseless. The memorials and vigils underscored how deeply the shooting spree had shaken the town.
Years later, the case reached its legal conclusion. Yaska ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault for killing the 24-year-old male victim and wounding the woman, and on November 10, 2022, a judge imposed a composite sentence of 75 years with 25 years suspended—50 years to serve. State officials said he fired the AK-47 while under the influence of alcohol, targeting multiple people during the rampage that claimed Bruce “Gotor” Morgan's life.
