A 20-year-old man is charged with murder in a fatal shooting Tuesday evening in Spenard, according to Anchorage police.
Matthew Siavalua was in custody Wednesday at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. The victim hasn’t yet been named as police notify his family.
According to a police statement, officers responded just after 7:30 p.m. to the 1300 block of West 26th Avenue, where they found the victim with a gunshot wound to the upper body. Anchorage Fire Department medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Witnesses told officers that the shooter had left the scene, but police say Siavalua later turned himself in.
“Initial indications are that two men known to each other became involved in an altercation during which (Siavalua) produced a firearm and fatally shot the victim,” police said in the statement.
Siavalua is charged with second-degree murder.
According to a charging document against Siavalua, two callers who initially reported the shooting told police he had admitted to the crime before leaving. Multiple witnesses said Siavalua claimed he had been attacked by the victim.
The victim was found in a common entry area of an apartment building, police said, with at least one gunshot wound to the head and at least three .40-caliber shell casings near his body.
At about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to a home on Notting Hill Drive in East Anchorage, where Siavalua had said he wanted to cooperate with police. Officers arrested Siavalua, later seizing a .40-caliber Glock handgun from the home.
Police say Siavalua told detectives that he had had issues in the past with the victim. The two met in the hallway outside Siavalua’s apartment, which the victim’s girlfriend was visiting to collect some personal items.
As Siavalua headed upstairs to avoid a confrontation, he said the victim grabbed him from behind and reached for the gun in his pocket. After turning to face the victim, he claimed the victim struck his face and knocked him down, then again reached for the gun.
“Siavalua pulled out his gun and fired three times, striking (the victim) in the head,” police said. “(He) fell on top of Siavalua. Siavalua pushed him off and ultimately left the scene.”
The shooting took place on the same day that police say two people were fatally shot near Davis Park in Mountain View. Police didn’t immediately have an update on that shooting Wednesday morning.
According to police, Tuesday night’s shooting is the city’s 18th homicide this year. In 2024, the city saw a total of 34 homicides for the entire year. The highest count in recent history is 38 homicides in 2017.
