Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Weekend Turns Violent After Bars Close
One man shot to death and one stabbed downtown Saturday night
By Heather Hintze
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ANCHORAGE - The weekend before Halloween turned violent after one man was shot to death in front of a nightclub and another found stabbed.

Officers say 27-year-old Said Beshirov was shot and killed outside Platinum Jaxx at 2:53 Sunday morning. It happened as a crowd was leaving the bar after last call. Police say they believe a number of people recorded the altercation on their smart phones and say that video could aid in the investigation.

“It's an amazing thing. If you ever commit a crime in a crowd you can guarantee somebody is there videoing the crime. It's an amazing thing now. So it's very helpful when people do that sort of thing,” said Lieutenant Dave Parker.

Detectives ask anyone with video from the scene to contact police at 786-8900 so the file can be downloaded. Police say all phones will be immediately returned to their owners.

Just minutes before the shooting, at 2:41 a.m., officers found a man severely injured at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and G Street. The man told police he was stabbed while he waited for his friends outside the Gaslight Lounge. He was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. Police have not yet released the man’s name.

Police have not yet identified suspects in either case. Though the shooting and stabbing happened a few blocks apart within ten minutes of each other, police do not think they are related.