Anchorage Homicide ‘Person of Interest’ Now in Custody

Police now have 21-year-old Chaz Shanigan in custody. Image-APD
Police now have 21-year-old Chaz Shanigan in custody. Image-APD

A man who was being sought as a “person of interest” in an active homicide investigation that occurred on Wednesday at the Executive Suites hotel on Spenard Road, is now in custody on a previous charge of escape, Anchorage Police reported on Thursday.

After conducting several interviews in the shooting death of a victim that has yet to be publicly identified by police, they took interest in speaking with 21-year-old Chaz Shanigan, who had a felony arrest warrant issued after his escape from the Cordova Center in mid-February. He was doing jail time for a recent conviction of Vehicle Theft I, Reckless Driving, Failure to Stop at the Direction of an Officer, and Escape IV.

After being shot, the victim of Wednesday morning’s shooting had jumped from a window at the hotel, as shots continued to ring out, and left in an SUV after being shot, but made it only next door to the hotel. He died in the McDonald’s parking lot approximately 100 feet away.

A report went in to APD on Thursday morning, notifying police that Shanigan was once again at the hotel, but he would leave from the premises before police could contact him. He was apprehended about a block away and arrested.

Police say that currently, Shanigan is only charged with the escape warrant and no additional charges have been filed against him. He remains a person of interest as of Friday morning.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]