Alaska News

Family wounded by downtown gunfire early Sunday were passers-by, says one victim

Days after a family night out that was supposed to be no more exciting than a karaoke session at an Anchorage Chinese-food restaurant, Willie Popoalii still has two bullets in him.

The 35-year-old Popoalii, his wife and four other family members were shot early Sunday morning on a downtown sidewalk as they walked to an establishment police called the "Kodiak Bar & Grill" in a news release, though according to its owners it is not a bar but instead an 18-and-over, after-hours dance club with no liquor license.

Popoalii was shot three times in the arm and back. Doctors were able to remove one bullet.

The most seriously injured of the six, 20-year-old Jonah Silva, is still in critical condition at a hospital. The four other victims -- shot in the foot, shoulder, knee and arm -- have been discharged from the hospital.

Police are seeking two male suspects in the shooting. As of Tuesday they had made no arrests, said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Anita Shell.

In an interview from his East Anchorage home on Tuesday, Popoalii said his family was caught in the crossfire of an argument between two men near the corner of Fifth Avenue and Barrow Street at about 4:30 a.m., just as they were about to head into the Kodiak to dance.

Some have suggested the shootings had a racial element -- the victims were Samoan and the shooters described by authorities as African-American -- but that's not true, said Popoalii.

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His family, he said, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Karaoke night gone wrong

Saturday night began as a chance for Popoalii, an East Anchorage father of 12 with a job in the social services field, to spend time with his extended clan of cousins, nieces and nephews.

"It had been awhile. We live in the same town and hardly see each other," he said.

After karaoke at Asia Garden Chinese Restaurant, they decided to head to the Kodiak, which stays open with food, music and non-alcoholic drinks until 5 or 6 a.m. on weekends.

According to Popoalii's version of events, which police haven't confirmed, it was almost 4:30 a.m. when they pulled up to a parking space near the corner of Fifth and Barrow. There seemed to be a lot of people standing around on the sidewalk and lots of parked cars in the otherwise deserted neighborhood, he said.

They were barely out of the Popoalii's vehicle when he noticed two men seemingly in the middle of an argument. He says he walked over to check it out.

"I asked them 'Is everything OK,' " he said. "The other guy said 'Oh, yeah, everything is good.' "

Popoalii says he turned around and walked back to his family. That's when the gunfire began. Popoalii remembers a tall, slender man with a handgun and hooded sweatshirt. It seemed like the two men were shooting at each other, he said.

"It felt like it went on forever," he said. "My brother is like 'Dude, you been shot, man.' I was so hyped I didn't even know I was the one that got shot most."

It also wasn't the first time Popoalii had been shot. He said he once was grazed in the leg by a bullet.

Silva, a new father who was a high school football star in Fairbanks, jumped in front of his wife and prevented her from being hit, Popoalii said.

"He was a hero."

When the bullets stopped, cars started peeling out.

"It was total confusion," he said.

The changing Kodiak

The Kodiak, the only after-hours, 18-and-over club currently operating in the downtown area, occupies a particular niche in Anchorage nightlife that some say deserves more scrutiny and security.

At one time the building, at 225 E. Fifth Ave., was a restaurant called the Kodiak Kafe. There were Reuben sandwiches and stools at the lunch counter that were covered with saddles. Around 2007, it acquired a liquor license and new owners and became a gay-friendly dance bar that stayed open after last call slinging steak and eggs, Red Bull and bottled water to the sunrise party crowd.

The name Kodiak stayed simply because the new ownership didn't want to change the existing sign, said Nick Coltman, who owns two buildings on the same block.

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The Kodiak's management envisioned a "low-key" bar, Coltman said. But things weren't always low-key.

"It was pretty raging a lot of nights. I'd have problems with windows getting broken next door," he said. "I'd be down there at 3:30 a.m., meeting with the police."

Many of the problems happened in the pre-dawn hours between 3 and 6 a.m., after last call but when the party was still hopping at the Kodiak. Not allowed to drink inside, some patrons would take the party to their cars or the alleyways, according to Coltman.

In September 2012 the Kodiak, facing financial trouble, sold its liquor license to the Olive Garden.

After that, the establishment was purely an after-hours, weekend club with no booze.

This summer, nightclub promoters T Marteen and TJ Carmen took over management of the venue, according to Ethann Oldham, who owns the property with her husband. Marteen and Carmen are also involved in a new downtown bar, PlayHouse, in the Sunshine Plaza building.

"I think these guys are being really conscientious," Oldham said. "They don't want problems either."

They plan to change the Kodiak's name to Club Nocturnal, according to its Facebook site.

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Attempts to contact Marteen and Carmen for this story were unsuccessful.

Coltman said he thinks the mix of after-hours and all-ages club deserves more security.

Oldham said the new managers have stepped up security, including screening patrons with metal-detector wands.

She pointed out that the shootings didn't happen inside the Kodiak or even directly outside, but down the street almost half a block. Popoalii and his family say they never made it inside. Police say they have no evidence that the shooter or shooters were inside either.

'I wish I could rewind time'

Popoalii said he is full of guilt for putting his younger relatives in harm's way. He keeps wondering why they didn't just go home after karaoke.

"I wish I could rewind time," he said.

He said he's thankful for all the people praying for Silva. Next time, he said, he'll steer clear of the after-hours party scene.

But an early-morning storm of bullets on a sidewalk doesn't change what he thinks of Anchorage, he said.

"Anchorage is a safe place," he said. "I don't hate the guys that shot us. I forgive them. I just hope they'll learn a lesson from this and turn themselves in."

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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