🌱 Man Found Guilty for Assault + Police Shoot Man Holding BB Gun

Happy Friday, neighbors! Here's everything you need to know to start today off on an informed note. Here's everything going on in Anchorage today.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy with a snow shower. High: 28 Low: 25.

Here are the top 3 stories in Anchorage today:

1. Yesterday, a jury in Alaska found a man guilty for the rape and murder of a woman at a university dormitory from all the way back in 1993. The case of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie went unsolved for more than two decades and confused many for years. Recently, a DNA match for the assailant, Steven Downs, was found using genetic genealogy tracing. According to reports, Downs was a freshman at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and lived in the same dorm where Sergie was found dead. His sentencing has been planned for September. (U.S. News & World Report)
2. A dash camera video was recently released, and it shows three police officers fatally shooting a man in possession of a BB gun. Police pulled over to stop 31-year-old Bishar Hassan because they believed he matched the description of a man reported to have been waving around a gun. After stopping Hassan, police approached him and he reached to his waistband to retrieve what looked like a real gun. Three officers, Nathan Lewis, Brett Eggiman and Matthew Hall, shot immediately and killed him. This shooting has now raised concerns about police and their use of force. (NBC News)
3. A Mat-Su nonprofit is sending more than 60,000 books across the state to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Author Alys Culhane created this nonprofit to save books bound for the landfill and get them back into the hands of Alaskans. Bright Lights Book Project is a Palmer-based nonprofit that was started in 2019. Culhane knows that so many places and people need books, so it would be a shame for them to go to waste. In the future, she is focusing on building her partnerships for more success. (Anchorage Daily News)

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Today in Anchorage:

• Valentine's Craft at Mountain View Branch Library (3:00 PM)
• VolunTeen Fridays at Anchorage Public Library (3:30 PM)
• Sewing Class with Elder Marge Nakak at Alaska Native Heritage Center (6:00 PM)
• Grand Opening at Rumble Boxing Anchorage (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Anchorage Public Library is wondering if everyone got to catch "Stuff from the Stacks" on the Triple C Morning Show. If not, you can listen to the recording posted on their Instagram. Make sure to listen in to hear about reading recommendations, crafting, and more! (Instagram)
• The Anchorage Museum wants to educate everyone on the history of aviation in Alaska. Did you know that there are several examples of aircrafts that took off one day and were never seen again? To learn more about this chilling history, check out their post! (Facebook)
• The Alaska Center for the Performing Arts wants everyone to "PAC" this upcoming weekend with some of the great events they have taking place. Today, Talisk will be performing at the Discovery Theatre. For tickets and event information, check out their post! (Facebook)

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Dominique-Noelle Rafael

About me: Dominique is a self taught UX/UI designer based in Princeton, NJ. She recently graduated from the University of Maryland last spring with a bachelor's degree in Information Science. She is excited to begin working on the Patch newsletter project this year!