Anchorage police said Sunday that, for the second night in a row, they were investigating an early-morning shooting at a parking lot outside Chilkoot Charlie's, a popular watering hole in the Anchorage neighborhood of Spenard. Each left a man critically injured by gunfire.
Police reported they were called to the scene around 3 a.m. Sunday to investigate reports of gunfire, including a shooter firing from a vehicle.
"Police responded to the scene and did not locate any victims at the scene but found traces of blood in the parking lot," Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro wrote in a release. "Shortly thereafter, police were notified that a gunshot wound victim had shown up at a local hospital with critical injuries."
The male victim had been taken to the hospital by another person who was at the parking lot, police reported.
Castro wrote that police did not have any suspects in custody as of about 9 a.m. Sunday, and the investigation was ongoing. It wasn't yet clear if the two shootings -- both of which occurred just after bar closed -- were related.
In an official statement released on behalf of Chilkoot Charlie's, management of the longtime Anchorage institution said they were cooperating fully with the police investigation into the incidents, and had attempted to keep patrons on site following Sunday morning's reported shooting.
"For their safety, patrons of Chilkoot Charlie's who had already exited the building were immediately brought back inside by the club's security and departing patrons were also kept inside," the release said.
Customers were released after police gave the OK; the bar provided some customers with vouchers to take taxicabs home, as three vehicles had been struck by gunfire, while others were within the cordoned-off crime scene.
Two other vehicles were directly involved in the shooting, the statement said. Security footage provided makes and models of the vehicles, along with some information about license plates, the bar reported.
"At least one person was known to have been hit, though all parties involved fled the scene," the statement said.
In the Saturday morning incident, police arrived to find a man lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The shot had also reportedly been fired from a vehicle, police said.
A separate release from Chilkoot Charlie's addressing the Saturday shooting stated that those involved were not believed to have been inside the bar prior to the incident.
"Five individuals in a dark colored van were seen fleeing the scene and had previously been approached by the security of Chilkoot Charlie's with a request to lower the volume on their music," the release said. Security with the bar provided police with a vehicle description and a license plate, and provided first aid to the shooting victim, the release said.
Anyone with information regarding the shootings is asked to call 907-786-8900 and press 0 to speak to a dispatcher, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 907-561-STOP.