Crime & Justice

Anchorage police seek suspect in shooting that injured 1

A man answered the door of his Valley of the Moon home Sunday afternoon and was shot by a gunman who then fled on foot, Anchorage police said.

By Sunday evening, the suspect was still at large, with police combing the North Star and Valley of the Moon neighborhoods looking for him.

The 23-year-old gunshot victim, who was struck in the torso, was unconscious and undergoing surgery at a local hospital.

The shooting happened at 2:42 p.m. on the 600 block of West 20th Avenue, a few blocks south from Valley of the Moon Park.

Witnesses told police that the 23-year-old "opened the door of his home to a gunman who fired a single shot" and then ran away.

Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Anita Shell said police don't know if the suspect was known to the victim or if the two were strangers. The victim hasn't been able to talk to police yet, she said. Police have not named him.

The suspect is described as a white male between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with short, dark hair.

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The gunman was seen fleeing in the direction of Blueberry Street and 21st Avenue, police reported. More than a half dozen patrol cars were clustered near the intersection at about 3:30 p.m., with officers walking the neighborhood carrying rifles and guiding canine units.

The home where the shooting happened takes in foster children, said Roseleen Osterback, a neighbor.

The neighborhood is usually a tranquil one, she said.

More police cruisers, officers and police dogs clustered near North Star Elementary off Fireweed Lane, where an ambulance and towels covered in blood could be seen in a parking lot late in the afternoon.

The evidence of a violent encounter there was unrelated to the still-at-large suspect, Shell said.

"(The officers) mentioned a dog doing an apprehension," she said. "Someone that matched the suspect description and ran from them."

Shell did not offer further details on that person's injuries.

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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