Anchorage police ‘actively patrolling’ for suspected shooter in U-Med district

Anchorage police said Tuesday that they were ramping up patrols of the U-Med neighborhood and urged the public to remain vigilant after a man was wounded by gunfire near the University Lake Park trail system the previous evening.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no one had been taken into custody or arrested in the shooting reported just after 10:45 p.m. Monday, police said. They described it as an isolated incident and said other encounters have not been reported.

A witness said a man he did not know fired multiple rounds at him and another person as they stood outside the Alaska Native Medical Center campus near the trails. The man appeared to lure them over by yelling for help, said the witness, who was not hurt. The other man was shot.

He “self-admitted” at the hospital for treatment, police said. The wounded man is reportedly in stable condition.

In an update midmorning Tuesday, the police department said more than 30 officers searched for 3 1/2 hours overnight without finding a suspect.

Residents should expect to see an increased police presence in the University-Medical District and on adjoining trails, Deputy Chief of Operations Brian Wilson said in an interview Tuesday. Some officers are out on fat-tire bicycles on the trails, he said.

Asked if the public should be concerned about an armed gunman who appears to have randomly targeted strangers, Wilson said he “understands that feeling and that concern” but detectives just don’t have enough information at the moment to provide more details.

“We’re trying as fast as we can to go through evidence to get answers,” he said. “In the meantime, all we can do is have a heightened presence so everyone understands that we’re out there, we’re taking it seriously.”

Wilson said he’d recommend people in the area “be vigilant. Always be looking out. Travel in pairs and groups when you can. Keep earbuds out of both your ears. Hear and see and be intentional in what you’re doing.”

Police spokeswoman Shelly Wozniak in an update Tuesday afternoon said there was still no suspect information to release and detectives were still following up on leads.

“The motive, and any relationship between the parties involved, is under investigation,” Wozniak said.

Police said officers will be patrolling neighborhoods, public spaces and schools in the area on Tuesday and through the holiday week.

The area includes heavily trafficked facilities at the University of Alaska Anchorage and both ANMC and Providence Alaska Medical Center campuses. It also includes trails and the University Lake dog park.

“While the current information regarding the suspect is quite limited, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities or concerns to the police immediately,” police said. They urged anyone who seees anyone who might be suspicious to call 911 rather than engaging with them.

University of Alaska Anchorage police issued an alert about a “possible shooting” at the Alaska Native Medical Center campus just after midnight. The alert described the suspect as a man wearing all black with a camouflage brim hat.

Anchorage police had not released any suspect information by the end of the day Tuesday. Wilson said it appeared the university police received initial information that allowed them to distribute a description.

The initial suspect description was preliminary, Wozniak said in an email Tuesday evening. The department “has worked that lead and we do not believe it to be accurate at this time.”

Gambell resident Nikolai Avalnun, 21, said he was one of the men the shooter fired at Monday night. Avalnun said he was smoking outside ANMC patient housing when he and another man heard someone calling for help from the woods.

The other man went to check on that person and had taken maybe 10 steps when “the shooter took aim and started shooting,” Avalnun wrote in a message. “He shot so fast and they hit all around us.”

Bullets whizzed by his head and hit the ground as Avalnun ran, he said. “First time I feel the air pressure of bullets on my hair.”

Avalnun said he did not recognize the man with the weapon.

“He called for help and then he aimed at us,” Avalnun said, saying it appeared the man tried to lure them closer so he could kill them.

Avalnun said the man who was wounded late Monday was doing well on Tuesday. “He was able to run away with a bullet wound,” he said.

The two men had just met, he said. “But we’re real close now.”

The incident triggered a lockdown at Alaska Native Medical Center that was lifted by around 3 a.m. Tuesday, a hospital representative said.

During the initial search, Anchorage patrol officers searched University Lake Park and adjacent trails on foot and also used drones to search the area, police said. They said special operations units including SWAT, crisis negotiation and Mobile Intervention Team units responded to the area just after 12:15 a.m. An update just before 2:45 a.m. said officers had broken down the perimeter and detectives would continue to process the scene.

The police update Tuesday also included a list of safe trail practices including staying alert and traveling in groups if possible. Police are coordinating with Alaska State Troopers and the university police department as well as hospital and university security.

The department is interested in hearing from members of the public who may have video footage from the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, particularly if they have cameras pointed to the trail system, Wozniak said.

Police asked anyone with surveillance footage of the area or other information regarding the shooting investigation who has not yet spoken to officers to call APD Dispatch at 311 (option 1) or 907-786-8900 (option 0). Anonymous tips can be submitted online at anchoragecrimestoppers.com.