Crime & Courts

Man wounded as barrage of bullets is fired into his car at Anchorage fast-food drive-thru

Two men were shot and wounded over the Memorial Day weekend, according to Anchorage police, who said a suspect in one of the cases has been taken into custody.

The first shooting, in a drive-thru lane at the McDonald's restaurant at 255 Muldoon Road near the Glenn Highway, was reported just before 4 a.m. Saturday, according to police Lt. John McKinnon.

As police were responding to the McDonald's, they received word that the victim had driven himself to a hospital, arriving with "multiple gunshot wounds to the lower and upper body," according to a statement from police spokeswoman Renee Oistad.

"Through witness interviews and evidence collection it was determined that (the victim) had pulled up to the drive-thru window to pay for his food when he was shot multiple times," Oistad wrote. "It appears the shots were fired from at least two occupants associated with a white car that was on the opposite side of a wooden fence to the north of the drive-thru."

A McDonald's employee at the drive-thru window, who McKinnon said was taking cash at the time, was struck by shattered glass. The employee suffered only minor cuts, Oistad said.

"There were at least 10 bullet holes in the passenger-side door" of the red Chevrolet Cruze, McKinnon said.

Police believe the shooting to be a targeted incident, McKinnon said, and have made no arrests in the case.

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The second man was shot in the chest just before 5 p.m. Monday on the 700 block of South Klevin Street. Oistad said the victim had been driven to an emergency room, and multiple family members followed him there.

Alaska Regional Hospital spokeswoman Kjerstin Lastufka said the emergency department went on lockdown for less than an hour. The precaution is automatic when the hospital receives a gunshot wound victim, Lastufka said.

A $250,000 arrest warrant was issued for 33-year-old shooting suspect Luis Aponte-Sosa.

"After contacting several witnesses, it was determined the victim was outside and behind his home on the 700 block of Klevin when he was shot by (Aponte-Sosa)," Oistad wrote. "Witnesses stated they thought the suspect would try to leave state. The suspect and victim knew one another; the motive for the shooting is still under investigation."

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport police reported to investigators around 6 p.m. that they had arrested Aponte-Sosa inside a terminal there.

No motive in the shooting was immediately determined, Oistad said.

Aponte-Sosa was being held Tuesday at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and weapons misconduct.

Both victims were in stable condition at local hospitals Tuesday, McKinnon said.

Correction: An initial version of this story incorrectly stated that medics had taken the victims to local hospitals.

Chris Klint

Chris Klint is a former ADN reporter who covered breaking news.

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