Two Alaskan Women Caught in Crossfire

Two women were fired upon in a truck as gunshots were heard throughout a neighborhood near Illinois Street early Saturday.

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By Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Story Created: Feb 21, 2011 at 2:52 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 21, 2011 at 2:52 PM AKDT

Original article posted March 22, 2010

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Two women were fired upon in a truck as gunshots were heard throughout a neighborhood near Illinois Street early Saturday.

No one was hurt, but Fairbanks Police Sgt. Eric Jewkes said several residents reported hearing or seeing shots fired in the area north of Minnie Street.

FPD officers believe there were two or more vehicles firing at each other, Jewkes said.

About 2:30 a.m., Cathi Beck, a News-Miner employee, and her daughter, Jordan, 23, were delivering newspapers in the neighborhood when she turned onto Clara Street from Ina Street when their truck was blocked by a car idling in the middle of the road.

Beck slowly drove toward the small, dark blue sedan. Its reverse lights flashed on and the sedan reversed at Beck's truck. Beck reversed to avoid being hit.

From the driver's side, a gun fired at the ground in front of the truck as both vehicles were reversing quickly. 

“It was like you see in the movies,” Beck said. “It was like ‘This can't be happening.'”

Beck thought the first shot was the car backfiring, but then she saw the gun barrel. She saw smoke coming from the gun and bullets hitting the snow in front of the truck.

Beck was forced to stop at a dead end. The sedan stopped, too, pinning her in.

“If he wanted to kill us, he could have,” Beck said.

She called 911, then the card drove forward and turned left, while its passengers continued to fire.

Beck said about 15 shots were fired in all.

No arrests have been made.

Vehicle-to-vehicle gun battles are not new to Fairbanks. Several happened during a gang dispute in recent years, most notably an August 2008 shootout on College Road.

A man arrested for drunken driving during the investigation is not believed to be connected with the shooting, Jewkes said. 

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