Anchorage police say an officer confronted a suspected prowler armed with a hatchet and fired shots in south Anchorage.
An initial police press release does not indicate whether the suspect was struck.
Police just before 4:30 a.m. Thursday took a report of a prowler in south Anchorage between the Old and New Seward highways off 100th Avenue.
Officers found that someone had broken into multiple cars.
An officer spotted a man cutting through neighborhood yards. The officer tried to stop the man, and when he continued, unsuccessfully attempted to stop him with a stun gun.
Police say the suspect produced a hatchet. The officer then reported shots had been fired.
The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Howard Wayne Watson, was hospitalized in critical condition.
