Two men and one juvenile were arrested by the Anchorage Police Department following a fight and shooting in South Anchorage on Wednesday night that left two teenagers hospitalized.
Roughly two dozen people had assembled during the incident, a "mass of people meeting to watch a fight," APD spokesperson Anita Shell said, ranging from juveniles to young adults.
Witnesses described an ongoing dispute between two males, who agreed to meet and fight in parking lot at the southeast corner of 88th Avenue and Old Seward Highway, in the Sports Authority parking lot. Shell said that the two males were fighting over "a variety of different things."
The fight escalated from a one-on-one fight to three males beating on a 16-year-old male, police wrote in a press release.
At some point, one of the people watching the fight pulled out a gun and began firing into the air, prompting several others to start shooting off guns, Shell said. A 16-year-old girl who was watching the fight was struck in the arm by gunfire. The crowd dispersed after the shots were fired.
Police responded to the fight around 11 p.m. Wednesday. Officers charged a 17-year-old male for his involvement in the fight, Shell said. Andy Garcia, 18, was charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance and had an outstanding warrant for assault, police wrote. Matthew Colding, 19, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for robbery. Benkasey Celado, 22, was cited and released for driving with a suspended license. Charged adults were taken to the Anchorage Correctional Center, and the juvenile was referred to the McLaughlin Youth Center.
The 16-year-old shooting victim and 16-year-old assault victim were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
Correction: The Anchorage Police Department initially reported that Celado had been charged with assault. The article has been updated with corrected information released by APD.