A home invasion was cut short when a gun-wielding homeowner fired shots at suspects, authorities say.
Just after 8 a.m. Friday, the Anchorage Police Department said they responded to a home on the 1000 block of Essex Circle — located near Minnesota Drive and West International Airport Road — for an attempted home invasion.
“Suspects approached the home, and when the door was opened, one of the suspects pepper-sprayed the homeowner,” said APD spokesperson Renee Oistad in a statement.
In response, Oistad said, the homeowner fired “several shots” with a handgun he had with him when he answered the door. The suspects then left in a vehicle. Besides being pepper-sprayed, the homeowner was not harmed.
Nearly an hour later at 8:46 a.m., Anchorage police were told that a male with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his backside had gone to a local hospital, Oistad wrote, adding that APD is trying to find out if the man was involved in the Essex Circle encounter.
Because of conflicting witness statements, Oistad said, police do not have an exact number of suspects involved, physical descriptions or details on the type of vehicle they left in.
When asked via email if she believed the attempted home invasion was random or targeted, Oistad said: “The investigation is still on-going and we are not prepared to release any more information at this time.”
