Anchorage police shoot armed truck thief who pistol-whipped elderly victim

A man was shot and wounded by Anchorage police Sunday night after stealing a truck at gunpoint and beating its elderly owner unconscious. All eight APD shootings this year involved suspects armed with firearms.

Armed robbery in Midtown ends in police shooting after six-hour standoff

Anchorage police shot and wounded a man on Sunday night following a carjacking in Midtown that left an elderly victim hospitalised with serious head injuries, alaskapublic.org reports.

The incident began around noon on Sunday near the intersection of East 22nd Avenue and Glacier Street. According to Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, the suspect approached an elderly man who had parked his truck nearby and produced a handgun, demanding the vehicle's keys.

"The victim did not immediately turn over the keys to his car, at which time, the suspect fired a single round and then used the firearm to strike the victim multiple times in the head and face, rendering him unconscious and inflicting significant injury to the victim," Case said.

When the elderly man regained consciousness, he witnessed the suspect drive off in his truck. Case said the two men did not appear to know each other, and that the bullet fired by the suspect did not strike the victim. A Subaru had dropped the suspect off at the scene and subsequently followed the stolen truck.

Officers tracked the vehicle to a residence in the 1900 block of East 37th Avenue, approximately three miles from the original theft location. Police remained on scene for roughly six hours before the suspect emerged.

"He stood outside the front door for a couple of seconds, kind of surveyed what was happening out in front of him and went back inside the residence," Case said of the suspect's initial appearance shortly before 8:00 p.m.

The man re-emerged minutes later. An officer ordered him to stop reaching for his handgun, but the suspect pointed the weapon at police. Four officers opened fire. Paramedics transported the man to a hospital, where he is expected to survive.

Under Anchorage Police Department policy, the four officers who fired will be placed on administrative leave and their names released at a later date. The state Office of Special Prosecutions will investigate whether the shooting was legally justified. APD will also conduct a separate internal review to determine whether officers followed departmental procedures.

The suspect faces multiple charges related to both the vehicle theft and the police shooting, Case said. The elderly truck owner was also hospitalised and is expected to survive.

Following the shooting, a SWAT team worked until approximately 5:30 a.m. Monday to remove several people from the residence. Anchorage police had not yet provided details on any charges filed against those individuals, or on the status of the Subaru's driver.

Sunday's shooting was the eighth involving Anchorage police this year, matching a spike recorded two years ago. Four of the eight shootings have been fatal. Case noted that every incident this year involved a suspect armed with a firearm.

"When someone points a gun at an officer, it significantly limits the responses that are available to the officers," Case said.

Case said he plans to hold a follow-up press conference with additional details on Monday, 21 September.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)