A man was shot and killed early Saturday in a downtown Anchorage parking lot. Responding police officers shot and injured another man who witnesses claimed was involved in the initial Anchorage shooting, according to police.
The incidents occurred around 2:30 a.m., police said in a statement early Saturday. Officers were patrolling the 700 block of West Fourth Avenue during bar closing time when they heard gunshots coming from a parking lot at H Street and West Third Avenue, approximately a block away, police reported.
“Witnesses identified a man to officers, indicating he was involved in the recent shooting,” police stated. “Officers confronted the man, who was armed with a gun, near West 3rd Avenue and G Street. Two officers fired their weapons, hitting the man in the upper and lower body.”
The man shot by police was taken to a hospital and was reported to be in stable condition Saturday morning, according to police. “Initial indications suggest there was some kind of altercation in the 3rd/H parking lot that led to the gunfire,” police stated.
The parking lot shooting resulted in one man’s death and another man sustaining a gunshot wound to the lower body, according to police. The injured man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“The number of shooters, their identities, the motive behind the Anchorage shooting, and whether the involved parties knew each other are all under investigation,” police stated. “Multiple people fled the scene once the parking lot shooting occurred.”
The names of the Anchorage shooting victims and officers involved have not been disclosed. Police investigators were gathering evidence in the area on Saturday morning, resulting in the closure of multiple streets and blocked sidewalks.
A handgun, marked as evidence, was found on the sidewalk near the intersection of Third Avenue and G Street, close to where police shot the man. Several officers were processing evidence in the parking lot where the initial shooting occurred to the west. Another section of the sidewalk on Fourth Avenue, directly across from the Anchorage Police Department headquarters, was cordoned off with evidence markers.
Police urged individuals with information who have not spoken with officers to contact police dispatch at 311 or 907-786-8900.
Following department policy, the officers implicated in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, and the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions will conduct the investigation.
