Fight leaves Anchorage MMA fighter dead from gunshot wounds, APD says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man is dead and another has been charged with murder after a fight resulted in gunfire Wednesday evening.

Police identified the shooter Thursday as 24-year-old Mykal Nelson, and on Friday, identified the victim as 41-year-old Christopher Johnson. APD said his next of kin have been notified.

Johnson was known in Anchorage for competing in the Alaska Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts (MMA) competition in the state, according to AFC owner Billy Christensen, who confirmed the information with Alaska’s News Source.

Anchorage police say officers responded to a disturbance involving a firearm around 5 p.m. Wednesday in a neighborhood near East 66th Avenue, where a man was found with at least one gunshot wound.

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APD was dispatched and when they arrived on the scene, they witnessed a man with trauma to the upper body. He was transported to the hospital, where he died from his injuries, according to APD.

Nelson was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree murder, police said.

In charging documents provided to Alaska’s News Source, police said that several 911 callers reported a man — later identified as Johnson — was trying to kick a window out of a car before shots were fired.

The documents state that Johnson was walking by a car that Nelson and others were in.

Johnson bent down to look at the license plate of Nelson’s car and “words were exchanged,” according to the documents.

The altercation was elevated when Johnson began kicking at the rear passenger window, eventually breaking it, and Nelson got out of the car and asked one of the others to “grab his strap.”

The other person went into Nelson’s apartment nearby and asked the girlfriend of one of the other men in the car to get Nelson’s gun as the fight began to break out in the roadway.

After the gun was taken from the apartment, police say Johnson broke loose and began running away from Nelson, who then shot at him several times, including at least once at close range.

Johnson was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Prior to releasing the name, authorities said they transported several people to the Anchorage Police Department for questioning. APD says they are in the process of investigating and that there is no threat to public safety, as it appears to be an isolated incident.

APD asks that anyone with information or surveillance footage contact Police Dispatch at 311, option 1, or call (907) 786-8900, option 0. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers online.

This story has been updated with new information.

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