A prearranged fight in a South Anchorage parking lot Wednesday night drew a crowd of about two dozen people and ended with gunfire, police said.
In a written statement released Thursday morning, the Anchorage Police Department said two 16-year-olds were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the skirmish around 11 p.m.
According to APD, a witness said the incident began when two males involved in an ongoing feud agreed to meet and fight in a parking lot near the Sports Authority on the Old Seward Highway. A one-on-one fight between the two males soon grew to include two others, police said, and a 16-year-old male was beat up by the three other males involved in the fight.
The brawl escalated when someone in the audience fired a gun into the air, police said. More shots were fired by others in the crowd, and police said a 16-year-old girl was struck in the arm. Both teenage victims — the boy injured in the fight and the girl hit by gunfire — were taken to a local hospital, police said. Four other people involved in the incident were arrested on a variety of charges.
A 17-year-old male was charged with third-degree assault and referred to McLaughlin Youth Center, according to APD, and 22-year-old Benkasey Celado, Jr. was cited for driving with a suspended license, and was later released. Andy Garcia, 18, was arrested on a charge of sixth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and an outstanding warrant for assault, police said, and 19-year-old Matthew Colding was arrested on an outstanding warrant for robbery.
All three of the adults were taken to the Anchorage Jail, according to APD. According to court documents, Garcia pointed his gun in a man’s face who said he was trying to break up the fight. Garcia appeared in court Thursday for an unrelated case, in which he is facing five felony armed robbery charges for alleged crimes that took place in March and April.