Palmer teen recovering after accidental shooting

WASILLA — A Palmer High hockey standout is in stable condition after suffering an accidental gunshot wound Saturday afternoon in Wasilla.

A bullet struck Ivan Good, 18, in the thigh after a .45-caliber pistol misfired while Good and a friend were in a car in the parking lot of the Wasilla Sportsman’s Warehouse store. Good’s father, Andrew, said the incident was purely accidental.

“(Ivan’s) buddy went to put away the pistol, pointed it downward, and it misfired,” Andrew Good said.

The bullet ricocheted through the top of the center console, into the seat and into Ivan’s leg, Andrew Good said.

Good, who turned 18 on Sunday, had just received a .40-caliber pistol for his birthday, Andrew Good said. Wasilla Police Chief Mike Hughes told the Frontiersman on Monday it appeared Ivan Good’s friend had the weapon out showing Ivan how to take the gun apart.

Ivan Good was rushed to the hospital, where medical staff found a single-entry wound about the size of a quarter, Andrew Good said. The bullet struck Ivan about the midway point of the thigh and once it hit bone, the bullet spiraled upward 6 to 8 inches. There is a Y-shaped fracture in his femur that could have been caused by the shock of the bullet. Andrew Good said the hollow-point bullet left extensive tissue damage in addition to the fracture, but fortunately did not hit any major veins or arteries.

Ivan Good underwent a CT scan on Saturday, but the fracture was not discovered until Sunday.

Andrew Good said the family was faced with the choice of three immediate routes of recovery for Ivan, and two would require surgery. Rather than having a rod or plate surgically placed, the Good family has opted for bed rest. The key is Ivan cannot put any weight on that leg for at least three weeks.

There is still risk for infection, Andrew Good said, but if Ivan’s condition improves there could be no need for surgery.

Good described the friend in the car as a close family friend and stressed the incident was purely accidental and he does not wish to press charges. Andrew Good said he also plans to contact the district attorney’s office in hopes of preventing any charges from being filed.

Hughes said that at this step in the process, the case is in the hands of the district attorney. He said that from the police department’s view it appears to be a relatively straightforward case of an accidental shooting.

“You’re not really having to investigate to find out who your suspect is or who the victim is,” Hughes said. “It’s a simple matter of presenting that information for a review. There’s not a whole lot that would need to be investigated at this stage. It’s simply here are the facts as we know them and let them take a review.”

The district attorney could choose to press charges regardless of the feelings of the victim’s family, but those feelings aren’t left out of the process.

“There’s always consideration to the victim’s desires; however, the district attorney’s office could pursue charges if they saw fit,” Hughes said.

Ivan Good recently completed his junior season of prep hockey at Palmer High. The talented forward was named the North Star Conference Player of the Year and helped the Moose win their first conference title in decades. Good, who has been invited by multiple Junior A hockey teams to attend offseason camps, is also a standout on the Junior Avalanche U-18 competitive team, which enters state tournament play this weekend.

Right now, Andrew Good said, the focus for Ivan is his recovery.

“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Andrew Good said. “It’s been a pretty rough couple of days.”

Andrew Good said the family is simply thankful the injuries are not more serious.

“We are believers and don’t feel Ivan was lucky, but rather God and his angels were watching over Ivan and his friend.”

Frontiersman writer Andrew Wellner contributed to this report.

Contact Sports Editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com or 352-2273.