Local and state authorities are investigating a report of shots fired on Jan. 4 a block away from the Kotzebue Bible Baptist Church. No injuries were reported, City Attorney Joe Evans said.
Kotzebue Police Department officers responded around 12:45 a.m. to the area of Edna Street and Sixth Avenue, where the shots hit at least two houses, according to the City of Kotzebue’s notice.
“At least two houses were struck with bullets, one of which we believe was the targeted house,” police said in a statement. “The shooting is being investigated as an intentional attack and is not a random shooting.”
Police officers Robert Odom, Officer Donovan Chappell and Officer Cody Meier followed up on several leads, conducting interviews and collecting evidence, according to the city’s statement Friday. Since it’s an ongoing investigation, the city can’t share information about the suspects, Evans said.
The case was referred to the Alaska Department of Juvenile Justice “for any criminal charges against the person(s) involved,” the city said in its statement. It wasn’t clear in the statement whether a suspect had been apprehended.
“We value confidentiality so we don’t disclose any information,” said Juvenile Probation Officer Michael Heyward.
Nina Lie said she and her family live in one of the houses that were shot at. Lie, her partner Steven and two children, 14 and 12, were sleeping when Lie’s 14-year-old son heard the gunshots hitting his bedroom.
“One of the bullets was inches from hitting him,” Lie said. Another bullet went all the way to Lie’s bedroom
The family rushed to the bathroom to hide until the police arrived, Lie said, but it wasn’t until 2 a.m. that the officers came to their neighborhood.
“We didn’t get any sleep that night because we were afraid for our life,” she said.
About six bullet holes damaged sheetrock in the house and the family’s personal belongings, Lie said.
“That sort of damage is so far from the trauma, from the mental damage that affected our children,” Lie said.
The morning after the incident, Lie said she couldn’t find out from the police and city officials whether the area was clear and whether any arrests were made. Outside of the two statements on Facebook, she said, there were no updates from local officials.
Lie said she had to rely on social media for updates, even though her family was directly involved in the incident. Lie added that more guidance and protocols are needed on the city level to direct people to safety in an event of a shooting.
“Our city, our local government, failed to protect us,” she said. “They failed to communicate to us and failed to protect us.”
Several Kotzebue organizations — including the school district, Native Village of Kotzebue and Maniilaq Association — announced they would start late Jan. 4 because of the incident.
“The city didn’t order any lockdowns,” Evans clarified. “Lockdowns were taken by individual entities within the city.”
June Nelson Elementary opened at 10 a.m. Jan. 4, said fifth-grade teacher Corey Shepherd.
“Attendance was low throughout the school building that day,” he said. “Just over half of my students showed up.”
A parent, Bree Swanson, said she was concerned about her children walking to school.
“With no communication to the community about what was going on, I was scared,” she said.
Mary Kingeak said she felt safe bringing her daughter to school only the next day, on Jan. 5. Still, she said the incident made her realize she needs to take extra steps to ensure her child’s safety — for example, by putting a bulletproof shield in her daughter’s backpack, “in case anything happens while at school, or out and about on an adventure or visiting.”
“After hearing about that night’s shooting,” she said, “I kept repeating to myself to put that shield in her bag.”
Through the day of the shooting, residents in Kotzebue and other Northwest Alaska communities were actively sharing information on Facebook, asking one another if the perpetrators were caught and whether it was safe to go outside. Multiple people asked the Kotzebue Police Department to provide more information about the suspects and said they were unhappy with the lack of communication following the shooting.
Marilyn Shield said that she didn’t receive any information from the city when she called about the shooting.
“The residents of Kotzebue are feeling less safe after this incident,” Shield said.
Shepherd said the two statements the city posted included only “the most basic of information that didn’t explain much about the relative level of safety that should be expected in the community, nor whether the shooter had been apprehended.”
“It is my hope that the City of Kotzebue can reexamine the ways in which they report information in a timely manner to the community,” he said. “This would serve both to help families make good decisions about how to conduct their day in light of the risks present as well as to curtail generalizations, exaggerations and rumors through the telephone game that will inevitably happen.”