UPDATE 8 p.m. Tuesday:
Anchorage SWAT officers were unable to locate a “person of interest” Tuesday afternoon in a man’s fatal East Anchorage shooting hours earlier.
Police said in an updated statement Tuesday night that witnesses to the shooting reported that a person of interest was in an apartment complex on the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court, near an initial report of shots fired. SWAT officers responded to the scene, as part of East 6th Avenue in the area remained closed.
“APD was unable to locate the person of interest during the operation and detectives are following up on leads,” police said in the statement. “All roads are now open.”
Police are asking any witnesses to the shooting, or people with surveillance video from the area, to call them at 311.
Original story:
A man was shot to death Tuesday morning in East Anchorage, according to police, and officers were still trying to apprehend the suspect hours later.
Officers responded just before 7 a.m. to reports of a man firing a gun on the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court, off East 6th Avenue near Russian Jack Springs Park, according to a police statement. Officers found a man in the parking lot with at least one gunshot wound to the upper body, and he was declared dead at the scene.
By late afternoon, a large police response was ongoing in the area and included members of the department’s SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams. Police closed East 6th between Boniface Parkway and Newell Street, and asked people in the area to follow officers’ instructions, including “evacuation of your home if necessary.”
“If you do not need to be in the vicinity, avoid it and seek alternative routes until further notice,” said an updated police statement shortly after 5 p.m.
Police had warned that they may use a drone or chemical agents to help arrest the suspect.
Along with SWAT and the crisis team, the department had also deployed its Mobile Intervention Team and Technical Support Unit.
Police have not yet identified the man killed. Police spokeswoman Shelly Wozniak said “the scene is active.”
Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call police at 311. Anonymous tips can be submitted at anchoragecrimestoppers.com.
Alaska Public Media’s Matt Faubion contributed information to this story.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
