The Anchorage Police Department responded to two separate shootings early Sunday morning, one of which left a man dead, and another where two men were each shot in the leg. The incidents continue a week of high-profile cases for Anchorage officers.
Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, police responded to reports of multiple gunshots near the 3700 block of West 80th Avenue, near Jewel Lake Road. Officers arrived at "quite a large party" to find that two men in their early 30s had each been shot in the leg, police spokeswoman Dani Myren said. Some partygoers began to file out once the officers arrived. The injured men were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment of the non-life threatening injuries.
Police had already visited the residence earlier that morning, around 12:30 a.m., to issue a disorderly conduct warning following neighborhood complaints of blaring music and noise.
No arrests have been made or charges filed in the incident. Police said Sunday the investigation is ongoing.
An hour later, around 3:30 a.m., police responded to another report of multiple gunshots, this time in the area of 9th Avenue and Ingra Street, in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood. Police arrived to discover a man outside, dead on the ground in the area of 9th Avenue and Juneau Street.
Police later identified the victim as 36-year-old Sean Mulgrew, and arrested 76-year-old Johnie Jones on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting. Officers followed a blood trail from Mulgrew's body to a nearby four-plex, which a witness stated they had observed two men leaving after hearing gunshots. One of those men was Mulgrew, who succumbed to his injuries not far from the apartment. After police followed the blood trail to the building, they reported that they discovered Jones "wiping fresh blood off the inside of the building's main door."
Police said that physical evidence also tied Jones to the shooting, which appeared to have been drug-related. He was taken to Anchorage jail and being held without bail.
Sunday morning's shootings continue what has been a week of "very high-profile, very serious calls" for Anchorage police, Myren said.
On Oct. 15, a newborn baby was found dead wrapped in a towel in Eagle River by a person walking their dog. The next day, on Oct. 16, a hit-and-run killed 36-year-old Anchorage resident Corbin Grassman, marking the first fatal hit-and-run collision in Anchorage since 2011.
The day after, on Oct. 17, police received a call from Chugiak resident Nita Kilapsuk, who said she was being held captive by her boyfriend Michael Hagood. When officers arrived on scene, they heard two gunshots from the residence, a converted bus. They entered the bus to find the pair dead. Detectives are calling the deaths a murder-suicide.
Then, early Saturday morning, police responded to multiple calls of a fight outside of the Gaslight Lounge that ended with a 38-year old man in critical condition. Officers arrived to find the man unconscious with serious injuries to his head and body. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.
The suspects had fled by the time police arrived. The investigation is ongoing.
Contact Laurel Andrews at laurel(at)alaskadispatch.com and follow her on Twitter @Laurel_Andrews