Crime & Courts

Early morning Valley shooting sends man to hospital

BUTTE -- Alaska State Troopers say they are investigating a Wednesday morning shooting in Butte that left one man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries to his head.

Troopers were not identifying the injured man, still hospitalized Wednesday afternoon, or any of numerous other people involved in the incident.

The shooting occurred at a small green house on South Bodenburg Loop Road, just off the Old Glenn Highway near the busy intersection marked by a yellow flashing light. Troopers remained at the house Wednesday morning, awaiting search warrants.

The shooting was reported just after 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to a trooper dispatch.

A large group of men -- an investigator estimated about a dozen -- arrived at small house where the shooter lived, "causing a disturbance," troopers reported. "When they did not leave, the resident of the home shot one of the men and the other men fled the area."

The men were from the Valley and from Anchorage, according to investigator Jim Streicher, the troopers' case officer at the scene.

The shooting did not involve domestic violence, but troopers don't know yet if it involved drugs, according to Streicher and trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters.

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A few of the men in the group knew the occupant of the home, Streicher said. He declined to provide further specifics, saying investigators were still sorting through details and waiting on warrants to collect evidence.

"There was a lot of people involved and somebody's in the hospital with very serious injuries to their head," he said.

The injured man was transported to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Additional information wasn't expected to become available until Thursday at the earliest, Peters said.

No charges had been filed in the shooting on Wednesday.

Troopers said the Alaska Bureau of Investigation's Major Crimes Unit is investigating the incident and ask anyone with information to contact them at 907-745-2131.

Note: An earlier version of this story cited troopers as saying drugs weren't involved in the incident. In subsequent communications, troopers said they weren't immediately sure whether or not drugs were involved.

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

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