ANCHORAGE – After what happened Sunday night, Max Soud is stunned he’s still alive.
“What I see is a just a gun pointing at my head, the same gun pointing at my head,” Soud said.
Soud’s roommate, 25-year-old James Smith, is charged with assault and attempted murder after allegedly pointing a handgun at Soud’s head and pulling the trigger. Police said the two began to argue over a $10 bet: Soud said Smith became angry after Soud told Smith’s girlfriend he was selling some her belongings without her permission.
But when Smith pulled the trigger on the gun aimed at his roommate’s head, the weapon jammed.
“He was trying like 20 times on the gun,” Soud said. “He’s trying to fix it, take the bullet out and see what’s wrong, put it back like that, put the bullet in again.”
Anchorage police said the two men struggled over the weapon. A third roommate, 23-year-old Kendrick Mathews, allegedly joined the fray, punching Soud and encouraging Smith to shoot him.
“I tell Kendrick, ‘Why are you saying that?’” Soud said. “He says, ‘Because you crossed my line on the bet thing.’”
The bet stemmed from a disagreement over whether a local Carrs store was open, Soud said. After wrestling the gun away from Smith and fleeing the trailer, he was able to make his way to a nearby Holiday convenience store and call police.
“I was really dead,” Soud said. “How am I going to put it? I just got lucky.”
Smith is being held without bail at the Anchorage Jail, while Mathews’ bail was set.