Carrs shooting suspect faces new charges including attempted murder

The man accused of wounding a supermarket employee during a shooting last weekend now faces expanded charges, after prosecutors say his gunfire also posed a threat to nearly a dozen people.

Devon Maurice Brown, 18, was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on charges including attempted murder, criminal mischief, weapons misconduct and first-and second-degree assault, according to a statement from Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion. Brown also faces 11 new counts of third-degree assault.

Each of those 11 counts, Campion said Friday, represents a bystander who was seen in surveillance video or identified in witness statements as being near the entrance of the Carrs Safeway store on West Northern Lights Boulevard shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday.

Employees had been responding to a group of teens fighting and breaking merchandise in the store, police said. When the teens left, an employee who stepped outside to get their vehicle's license number was struck in the right arm and leg by shots aimed at the store's front door.

A police officer recognized the shooter as Brown in surveillance footage, according to charging documents. The victim, who has been recovering at a hospital, subsequently identified Brown from a photo lineup.

Detectives originally charged Brown with just two crimes — second-degree assault and weapons misconduct — but Campion said prosecutors sought additional charges as the scope of the incident became clearer. Some of the new assault victims, he said, weren't aware of what was happening as they tried to enter or exit the store.

"We've got more information and a better picture of what happened," Campion said. "There are a number of people who were placed in danger of imminent physical injury."

None of the other teens involved in the initial altercation at the store had been arrested as of Thursday morning, police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said.