Three people face criminal charges after gunfire erupted outside the Northway Mall on Saturday afternoon, according to police.
MJ Thim, Anchorage Police Department spokesman, said multiple people called 911 around 12:30 p.m. reporting gunfire in the parking lot of Shockwave, a trampoline park at the mall.
By the time police arrived, the suspects had fled and bullets had damaged multiple cars in the lot, he said. No one was injured.
"This was in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon and people are out shopping," Thim said. "We're lucky no one was shot."
Police soon tracked down three of the suspects who had left in an SUV, which they crashed nearby on Rodeo Place, Thim said.
"They got out and took off running towards Bragaw Street," police said in an alert. "Officers caught the suspects in a parking lot near the post office."
Police arrested the three people, whom they identified as Jessica Malcolm, Tajean Grant-McKay and Ebon Moore — all 23 years old. Malcolm faces a charge of third-degree misconduct involving a weapon. Grant-McKay and Moore each lied about their identity, Thim said, and both face a charge of providing false information. Grant-McKay also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Thim said police believe those three suspects and two others got into a fight in the Northway Mall parking lot Saturday afternoon and then opened fire. Police believe the groups knew each other, he said.
"This was not random," Thim said. "This was a targeted attack."
Thim said he did not have information Saturday on why the group had met in the mall parking lot. He also did not yet have a description of the two suspects whom police continued to search for.
He asked anyone with information about this investigation, including surveillance video, to call dispatch at 907-786-8900 (press "0" for an operator). To remain anonymous, call 907-561-STOP or visit anchoragecrimestoppers.com.