A man and an Anchorage police dog suffered injuries in a Midtown shootout between the man and officers Wednesday morning, officials said.
The officers’ gunfire hit the man multiple times and his condition was unknown as of midday Wednesday, police said. The police dog was also shot and reportedly lost a toe but was expected to survive.
It started when someone called police dispatchers around 3:25 a.m. to say they’d spotted their stolen vehicle at a Circle K gas station at the intersection of Minnesota Drive and Spenard Road, Police Chief Sean Case said at a press conference later Wednesday morning.
“When the vehicle left the gas station, the complainant and owner of the vehicle maintained on the line with dispatch and followed a safe distance to provide updates so that officers could help recover a vehicle for them,” Case said.
The vehicle ended up at the intersection of Eureka Street and 34th Avenue, about a mile away from the gas station, where Case said officers attempted to block it. Two people got out of the vehicle, one of whom was arrested immediately, Case said. The second person ran west towards Bering Street, Case said, and several officers and a K-9 unit chased after him.
“The suspect, at one point in time, turns and fires somewhere between one and three rounds in the direction of the officers, and four officers return fire during the exchange,” Case said. “Our K-9 Kiska was struck by one of the rounds.”
Case said officers struck the man multiple times. Anchorage Fire Department personnel took him to a local hospital, and the man was still alive as of 10 a.m., Case said.
“K-9 Kiska was taken to pet emergency where he had one of his toes removed as a result of the gunshot,” Case said.
It was unclear midday Wednesday whether Kiska was struck by shots fired by the man or officers. Case said he wasn’t aware of any charges filed against either person officers encountered in the stolen vehicle.
The incident marked the third Anchorage police shooting in three weeks, Case said during the press conference. The spike in police shootings in a short time period warranted questions about de-escalation and police training, he said.
“What I can tell you is that the Anchorage Police Department has the same commitment to excellence in responding to calls that are high risk, regardless of what the facts and circumstances are,” Case said. “In this incident, as with our previous, we will always look at our training and our tactics to try to improve the best we can.”
An officer shot at Micah Bonin, 43, on March 28 after Bonin allegedly shot at police from a South Anchorage home, according to the police department.He died shortly after. Police believe Bonin started a fire at the home, and they were investigating whether Bonin was fatally shot by the officer or died in the fire.
On April 7, a police dog injured a man who exchanged gunfire with an officer near the Russian Jack neighborhood, police said. The man had allegedly choked a woman in the presence of her infant before fleeing the home when officers arrived.
Case said the department will hold a press conference next week with more details about Wednesday morning’s shooting.
In 2025, Anchorage police officers shot five people, three of whom died.
