Police plead for info about the shootout that left an Anchorage toddler wounded

Those who know something about Monday's shootout in Fairview that left a 2-year-old girl wounded must come forward, Anchorage police pleaded. They can do so anonymously.

MJ Thim, Anchorage Police Department spokesman, said in an email that officers know people have information about the suspects and the second vehicle involved in the shooting.

"We believe they don't want to give their identity," he said. "We want to stress to them to use Crime Stoppers because they can remain anonymous. We need the information to help us solve this crime; we don't need to know their identity."

Police said gunfire erupted between two moving vehicles in Fairview shortly before 4 p.m. Monday. A stray bullet penetrated a nearby apartment building off East 11th Avenue, hitting a 2-year-old girl who was in her living room with family.

Family identified the girl as Kapuaokalani "Kapua" Murphy. The bullet hit her arm and shattered her shoulder blade, according to a fundraising page set up to help pay for the child's medical expenses, titled "Justice for Kapua." A photograph on the page shows a tiny, dark-haired girl in a hospital crib with tubes in her nose and a large, pink stuffed animal bunny lying across her body.

A spokesman at Providence Alaska Medical Center said the toddler remained in the hospital Thursday and was in "good condition." She was sitting up, and had started talking and eating, according to the fundraising page.

Police had not made any arrests in the shooting by Thursday evening. Thim said police did not yet have any suspect descriptions to release, but he reiterated that those involved should turn themselves in.

"This is an innocent little girl," he said. "Those people who were responsible should do the right thing and come forward because it's going to be a lot easier for them if they turn themselves in instead of us finding them — and we will find them."

Officers have located one of the two vehicles involved, a red Dodge Ram pickup, and impounded it as evidence, Thim said. He described the other vehicle as a silver Toyota sedan.

Thim said police have received about 130 reports of shots fired around Anchorage so far this year. Monday's shooting was the first reported to police in 2018 that involved a person hit by a stray bullet, he said.

"It's a rare occasion, but I want to underscore that this by no means lessens the danger to the public," he said. "A 2-year-old girl, sitting inside her home, was nearly killed by a stray bullet from the multiple shots fired. This is an attack not only on the neighborhood of Fairview but on the entire community of Anchorage."

Police said people can submit anonymous tips about the shooting through Anchorage Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP or online at anchoragecrimestoppers.com.