Anchorage officers shot a man early Wednesday after police say he shot a homeowner in the Government Hill neighborhood. Both the man and homeowner were hospitalized, and no officers were injured.
It is the second police shooting in Anchorage in 24 hours.
At a press conference, Police Chief Sean Case said 911 dispatchers received six different calls Wednesday from people reporting shots fired in the 700 block of Hollywood Drive. Two of the callers were a woman and a man inside the house that a male suspect had allegedly fired rounds into.
Case said the woman reported that she may have been hit by a bullet fragment, but she didn’t have any serious injuries.
“She definitely believed she was struck with something,” Case said. “She even talks about at one point on the call that she was starting to feel a little bit faint. So there was definitely a physical and/or emotional thing that was happening based on rounds that were coming into the house.”
Case said the two inside the house believed the suspect was trying to break in. He said officers arrived on scene and started interviewing witnesses while the man and woman inside the home were still on the phone with dispatchers.
“About that time, officers observed a male suspect,” Case said. “The suspect did have a long gun, unsure right now if it was a rifle or a shotgun. (Officers) started to give commands, and the suspect disappeared out of sight around the victim's residence.”
Case said the man inside the home then walked outside, and officers immediately told him to get back inside the house.
“As that was happening, the suspect then appeared in the front of the house as well and fired at the victim, striking him multiple times,” Case said. “As that was happening, our officers immediately responded and fired rounds at the suspect, striking the suspect multiple times.”
Case said both the suspect and victim were taken to the hospital with what he described as critical injuries. He said it’s unknown if the victim and suspect knew each other. The number of rounds fired by two APD officers is also unknown due to crossfire, he said. The officers were placed on administrative leave, per APD policy.
“Their names are normally released within 72 hours, but with the severity of this case, it could be a bit longer than usual for all of the preliminary investigations to be completed,” APD spokesman Chris Barraza said in an email.
Case said this incident was very dynamic, and he praised the officers who responded.
“It's impactful for all of us,” Case said. “And then for officers to be there at the time when this happens and immediately respond, I mean, that puts those acts in the ‘heroic’ category.”
This police shooting comes less than 24 hours after an officer shot an armed robbery suspect in Midtown. That suspect was critically injured and remains hospitalized.
Last year, APD officers shot eight people, killing five of them.
Case declined to describe the higher-than-normal number of police shootings as a trend.
“These are all independent incidents with their own set of circumstances and facts that surround them,” Case said. “And you know, the officers go into each one of these scenarios, dealing with them each, individually.”
Charges haven’t been filed yet against either suspect, but he anticipates some in the future. Case said he expects to provide additional details on both shootings in the coming days.
