Alaska News

Police: Bullet fired from upstairs floor of home struck Juneau 19-year-old in head

A 19-year-old Juneau woman who was shot in the head in her townhouse Friday was apparently the victim of a stray bullet fired from an upstairs room, Juneau police said.

The unidentified woman was discovered around noon Friday in a Mendenhall Valley townhouse bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head and was flown to Anchorage for medical treatment.

On Saturday, Juneau police said in a statement that the weapon "was fired from the second level of the residence. The bullet traveled through the floor and into the first level of the residence striking a 19-year-old female in the top of her head."

On Saturday, police questioned and released two people believed to be connected to the incident, whom they identified as Katherine Milton, 46, and Rafael Flores, 51. Police had previously said that they were looking for Milton and Flores.

The Juneau Police Department has not identified the victim. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The incident is the second time this month an Alaskan was struck and injured by a bullet fired from a floor above. On Oct. 6, a 4-year-old Anchorage girl was hit by bullet fragments as she slept in her East Anchorage apartment. Police said the bullet in that case was fired from an upstairs apartment.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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