Police: Anchorage shooting suspect, victim were both on bicycles

Police are looking for a suspect who they say shot a man in the butt Wednesday while they were both riding bicycles through Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood.

The shooting was reported to police just before 1 p.m. near the intersection of 13th Avenue and Denali Street, the Anchorage Police Department said in a written statement.

Police say the suspect had "confronted the victim regarding a theft."

The victim then started to chase the suspect, until the suspect pulled out a gun, police said. The victim turned around and began to ride away on a bicycle, police said.

The suspect fired a weapon "more than once," and hit the victim once in the backside, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital with an injury that was not life threatening, police said.

Police had not arrested anyone in the shooting by Wednesday evening. They had not released the identity of the suspect or the victim.

[After a stray bullet wounded their toddler, an Anchorage couple copes with fear]

Police described the suspect as a "bald black male riding a maroon bicycle," last seen wearing a light blue jacket and blue jeans.

By 3 p.m. Wednesday, no evidence of a shooting remained in the area of the Fairview intersection where police say the shooting occurred. There was no bicycle or crime scene tape or police cars.

At one point, police vehicles did drive down 13th Avenue and stopped a man in a blue jacket who was riding a bicycle. Officers patted him down, checked his ID and then let him go.

Nearby, Mike Wertin was standing on his balcony. He said he was running errands that afternoon and, around 1 p.m., had just pulled into the federal credit union several blocks away when he heard gunfire. He got a text message from his wife who was at home in their apartment close to the shooting.

I just heard four gunshots, she told him.

A photograph she sent him showed a few police cars parked near the corner of 13th Avenue and Eagle Street. She said she didn't see much else.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Anchorage police's non-emergency line at 3-1-1, or submit a tip anonymously with Anchorage Crime Stoppers.

[Blood-soaked clothing, an ax and a woman's body were found in his home. He told troopers he doesn't remember what happened]