Police have released the name of a young man who was found beaten unconscious in an abandoned building in Downtown Anchorage Monday night. The victim has been identified as James Clinton, 18, of Anchorage.
Besides releasing his name, police have also released a photo of James Clinton, the young man who was severely beaten and left for dead in an abandoned building in downtown Anchorage earlier this week.
Anita Shell is a spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department. She says investigators are calling on the public to help them figure out what happened to Clinton.
"We're really trying to piece together any information that we can come up with that led to his assault and who assaulted him and why," Shell said. "So we're asking folks to come forward."
"If they fear retaliation and want to remain anonymous, they could always do that through our crime stoppers line. And that's 561-STOP. Or they could submit a tip online, also anonymously at anchoragecrimestoppers.com."
Police say Clinton may have ties to the Mat-su valley, went by several nicknames and he frequented the downtown area.
Around 8:30 Monday night someone slid an anonymous note under the door of the University of Alaska Police Department, tipping them off that Clinton was being held in a vacant building in downtown Anchorage. Campus police handed the case off the APD. Officers went to the building where they found Clinton severely beaten.
Clinton remains unconscious and in critical condition at a local hospital. The building where Clinton was found belongs to Covenant House, a non-profit that helps homeless teens. It was scheduled for demolition Thursday.
Police say Clinton's family has been notified and they were able to confirm his identity. No arrests have been made.