Anchorage Police are searching for five people involved in an assault and kidnapping in East Anchorage.
Police say the suspects abducted and beat 24-year-old Abshir Mohammed on Sunday in a house on the 6500 block of Cimmaron Circle. They allegedly put him in a dog kennel where he was discovered and driven to the hospital by a person who was not believed to be involved with the assault.
On Friday, police released a statement saying Mohammed is still in critical condition and asked for help from the public to find the people who assaulted him.
Police spokesperson MJ Thim said evidence suggests Mohammed was targeted and the assault was not random. However, he said the department has not yet determined why, but they’ve ruled out the possibility that it was a hate crime.
“We have a bunch of theories and that’s what we’re trying to determine which one is the correct one that happened and why,” Thim said.
Officers are searching for four alleged assault suspects — Macauther Vaifanua, Faamanu Vaifanua, Jeffery Ahvan and Tamole Lauina — as well as a fifth unnamed person of interest who is believed to have been at the home where Mohammed was assaulted.
Ahvan and the Vaifanuas face charges of kidnapping and assault while Lauina faces a kidnapping charge.
APD said all five should be considered armed and dangerous.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
