Anchorage police have stepped up patrols around the popular University Lake Park after a Monday night shooting left one person wounded. Police described the shooting as a random event and, two days later, continued to search for the suspect.
The shooting was first reported around 10:45 p.m. Monday, police said in a statement. The victim, who has not been publicly identified, went to a local hospital, and was reported in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Gambell resident Nikolai Avalnun said he was there when the shooter opened fire. Avalnun is in town accompanying his uncle for a medical appointment. Monday night, he said, he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette on a trail near the Alaska Native Medical Center. Another man and the victim, in town for the birth of his child, were also outside smoking.
Soon, they heard a man yelling in the distance. Avalnun said he didn’t think the man was in actual distress.
“He was just casually yelling, ‘Help, help me, help,’” Avalnun said in an interview on Tuesday. “And then it would get closer, like he's yelling for help, but it's getting closer.”
Avalnun said the victim spotted a man in nearby trees, about 25 feet away, and started walking toward him.
“I told him, ‘No … don't – it sounds a little sketchy? He's trying to lure us in or something,’” Avalnun said. “And he took like, five more steps, and then he took a good look at him: ‘Yeah, he's right there. He has a gun! He has a gun!’ He turned around and started running. Before I started running, I watched him lean over like this to us and aim at us with the rifle.”
According to Avalnun, the man fired about 20 shots that he said sounded like .22-caliber rounds. Avalnun said police later told him they found .22 shell casings in the area.
“Two of them passed my hair – I felt them brush my head. And a couple of them hit metal, one of these ones,” Avalnun said, pointing at a discolored spot on a white pole just above his head.
One of the rounds, Avalnun said, struck the victim in the back and emerged above his hip.
“He stayed running the whole time with us, right next to us, even if he was hurt,” Avalnun said.
More than 30 officers, including the department’s SWAT team, searched the park and nearby trails for the shooter for about 3 ½ hours, the police statement said. The suspect was not found.
University Lake Park is a heavily-used off-leash dog park that is connected to the city’s trail system, and near the campuses of the Alaska Native Medical Center and Providence Alaska Medical Center, as well as the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University.
By Wednesday morning, police had still not made any arrests in the shooting. In an interview, Police Chief Sean Case confirmed Avalnun's account and said police currently consider the shooting a random event. Case also said that investigators have spoken with a man University of Alaska Anchorage police released a suspect description of, determining that he was not involved.
Although police have reviewed surveillance video of the area, Case said officers' best description of the suspect is "a male wearing dark clothing."
Deputy Chief Brian Wilson said there will be more officers patrolling the area through the holiday weekend, including nearby neighborhoods and schools.
“They're probably going to see more Anchorage police, as well as (UAA) Police Department, out and about in the area,” he said. “We’ve got a couple fat tire bikes that we got some patrol officers on in the trails back there, just kind of precautionary while we follow the evidence.”
Wilson said police had spoken with the victim, who remained in stable condition after the shooting. He declined to discuss what the victim said, or what that person was doing at the time.
Police reminded trail users Tuesday to practice basic safety steps including being aware of surroundings, traveling in groups, limiting distractions and carrying a personal safety device such as an alarm or bear spray.
Police also ask that anyone who sees suspicious activity or individuals call 911 rather than engage. And they're asking anyone with information about the shooting or surveillance video from the area to call police at 311. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online through Anchorage Crime Stoppers.
Avalnun said he felt “creeped out” Tuesday by the apparently random encounter.
“I just came outside to smoke a cigarette," he said. "I didn't expect to get shot at."
Editor's note: This story was updated Wednesday, Nov. 27, with additional information from Police Chief Sean Case.
