Anchorage police say they are investigating a shooting in the parking lot of a Spenard hotel late Sunday that left a man hospitalized with two gunshots wounds to the lower back.
The 47-year-old victim told police that a stranger approached him outside the Royal Suite Lodge, demanded money, and then opened fire before fleeing the area in a vehicle, police said. The victim, whose name and hometown have not been released, was taken to a local hospital with injuries described by police as not life-threatening.
Detectives have received descriptions of both the suspect and the vehicle but police are not releasing that information because of the ongoing investigation, police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said.
Police dispatchers started getting multiple calls about the shooting just after 11:30 p.m. from the area of the hotel, located on Minnesota Drive. Some callers reported hearing shots fired but one told dispatchers they saw the man shot in the parking lot, Castro said. Police found multiple rounds of ammunition at the scene.
A manager at the hotel on Monday morning said he wasn't aware a shooting had taken place in the parking lot the night before.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to call police at 786-8900, or to report a crime tip anonymously call Anchorage Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or submit an anonymous tip online at www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Reach Zaz Hollander at zhollander@adn.com or 257-4317.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER