Man charged with weapons misconduct over shots fired in his living room

WASILLA - Police allege a man fired multiple rounds inside a Snohomish Avenue four-plex.

According to an affidavit Wasilla Police Officer Don Ridge filed in the case against Bruce Bjork, the shooting was first reported at 3:51 a.m., Feb. 8.

Ridge wrote that dispatchers sent him to the four-plex where the building manager told him that four shots were fired and that Bjork, a tenant in the building, had a gun and had been drinking that day. So Ridge went to talk to Bjork.

"At the time of this initial contact, Bjork did not possess a firearm and denied having one," Ridge said.

Bjork let him in to search the place where he found .45-caliber bullets and four expended shells.

"A .45-caliber semi-automatic Smith and Wesson pistol ... was also found concealed between a cushion and armrest of a couch in the living room. In the north-facing wall over the couch where the pistol was found were three holes entering the wall and exiting the wall on the outside of the building," Ridge wrote.

Ridge said that peering through a window he noticed that a church and a single-family home were downrange of the shots.

"Bjork admitted the pistol was his but denied shooting it. He later spontaneously stated he was just reloading. I recalled no reloading equipment was seen in the apartment," Ridge wrote.

But he did find several empty beer cans and marijuana pipes. He said Bjork was slurring his speech and swaying as he spoke. No one was hurt in the shooting, Ridge wrote.

Bjork was charged with two counts of weapons misconduct, one for firing in the direction of a building, the other for possessing a gun while intoxicated. Bail was set at $5,000 with the requirement that Bjork find someone to watch over him before he can be released.

As of Saturday, Bjork remained jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, according to jail records.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.