A 54-year-old man died after being attacked with a hatchet in a Fairbanks bar Sunday night, according to the Fairbanks Police Department.
The victim, Mark Allen Mitchell, was flown to Anchorage for treatment, but he died Monday morning from his injuries, the police department said.
A charge of attempted murder against Brett Matthew Gilbert, 49, has been upgraded to first-degree murder in connection with Mitchell's death, police said.
According to an account of the attack by public information officer Yumi McCulloch, Fairbanks police responded to Club Manchu at 7:15 p.m. Sunday. A caller reported that a single suspect "assaulted the victim with a stick, then fled the scene," McCulloch wrote.
But responding officers found Mitchell with life-threatening injuries delivered by a hatchet and gave him medical help, McCulloch wrote.
McCulloch said in a phone interview that the caller did not witness the attack, only the aftermath, and it's unlikely they processed the severity of the situation.
An initial investigation and video footage showed that without warning or "apparent provocation," Gilbert struck Mitchell on the left side of the neck, police said. The blow immediately incapacitated Mitchell, who collapsed to the floor, they said.
"Gilbert continued to strike Mitchell multiple times in the face and neck with the hatchet," McCulloch wrote. "Gilbert stopped the attack after a bystander grabbed him from behind." Gilbert fled the scene.
Officers found Gilbert at his home Sunday night and arrested him, police said.
Police are continuing to investigate the attack.
"There has been no indication as of now that drugs or alcohol were involved," McCulloch said.
Court records show Gilbert is set to make an initial court appearance at the Fairbanks Courthouse Tuesday afternoon.
Four people were injured in a shooting at Club Manchu in June 2015, when a man threatened another man with a gun and was shot multiple times in response.
Officers have gone to Club Manchu six times since January. The reasons for the visits are evenly split among noise complaints, thefts and welfare checks, according to data provided by the police department.