Victim dies after Dimond mall shooting

An off-duty court services officer for the Alaska State Troopers nabbed the fleeing suspect, police said. Police did not immediately identify either the victim or the man in custody.

Witnesses in the center reported the shooting at about 6:30 p.m. in front of the shop between O'Brady's and Forever 21. The victim, described by police as a man in his 20s, was hit multiple times and pronounced dead about half an hour later at a local hospital, police said.

Saul Perez had just walked into the barber shop for a haircut when he heard the shots, he said. He turned to see a man in black jeans and what looked like a fake beard running toward Forever 21.

Security guards charged in the same direction, said Allen Heitman, who works at a nearby store.

Witnesses couldn't say what the two men had been fighting about prior to the shooting, said Sgt. Lee Rowher. But some mentioned one of the men appeared to be wearing a wig or fake facial hair.

"Nobody really noticed these people until they were sitting on the bench and there was an argument going on," Rowher said. "And that's kind of when people took notice of something that was happening and the fact that one of them appeared to be wearing a wig or some form of fake hair piece kind of stuck out."

Rowher said officer "believe that this was a gang-related issue. We believe that some of the people involved in this are confirmed gang members."

Charles Mangold, who works as a court services officer for the troopers, chased down the man in custody, said troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Mangold was off duty at the time. Court services officers perform duties such as moving prisoners from the holding cells to court-rooms and standing guard in courtrooms, Peters said.

About an hour after the shooting, a shaken security guard with blood on his jacket stood near a line of police tape blocking the remaining mall customers from the scene. Witnesses approached police to tell what they saw.

Both the victim and the suspect appeared to be in their 20s, Rowher told reporters.

A third person may have been involved in the argument -- or the shooting, he said. Police plan to review mall video footage to learn more, he said.

E-mail reporter Kyle Hopkins at khopkins@adn.com or call 257-4334.