Former Niles North Grad Shot and Killed by Wyoming Police

Updated 6:29 p.m. ~

A former Niles North High School student was fatally shot in a standoff with police in Powell, Wyo. on Thursday, the Cody Enterprise reports.

The man was identified as Nick Ungar, 31.

A friend of Ungar's told Wyoming media that prior to the shooting Ungar had become "extremely upset over a confrontation with his father."

The shoot out took place at a motel that Ungar would sometimes visit, according to Cody Enterprise. At the time of the shooting, however, Ungar was not renting a room, the news outlet reported.

The standoff happened on Thursday around 3 a.m. Ungar told police that he was holding a hostage inside his hotel room, Cody Enterprise reported. Around 7:30 a.m., Ungar began firing shots at the officers and police fired back, making contact with Ungar. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Cody Enterprise.

Meanwhile, the Powell Tribune reported that a witness said Ungar never fired at police.

“[The witness], who was watching from across the street, said Ungar opened the door and was shot. He disputed the police account that Ungar was firing at officers,” the Powell Tribune reported.

A former class of 1999 student, Ungar attended Niles North High School and also worked at a local GameStop in Village Crossing.

Niles North graduate Steve Kogen met Ungar in Skokie during the sixth grade and the pair remained friends throughout high school.

"He had the image of being the toughest guy [at Niles North High School]," Kogen, 30, said. "But he was basically a big giant teddy bear once you got to know him; he was rough on the outside, but soft on the inside."

Kogen said it was around his senior year that him and his best friend went "in different directions."

"He was always there when you needed him," Kogen said. "A lot of people were afraid of him, and he was one of the most popular kids at our school. He made a lot of people laugh."

It is unclear when Ungar moved to Wyoming. When new information becomes available Skokie Patch will update.  

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