Teen shot in arm seeks treatment 3 days later

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers say a 17-year-old Wasilla boy sought medical treatment for a gunshot wound three days after the fact.

Troopers went to the urgent care clinic at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center shortly before 3:30 p.m. Monday, according to a trooper press statement.

The teen said he went to a bonfire near Big Lake at 11 p.m. Friday night, according to the statement. At the bonfire, someone started firing rounds from a handgun. The teen said one hit him in the arm and he reported hearing other shots hit nearby vehicles.

Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the young man waited to seek medical attention because, he told troopers, “He didn’t think it was that big a deal.”

Troopers generally leave it up to doctors to determine how badly someone is hurt, Peters said. But the boy told troopers he waited until the pain had worsened before he went to the hospital.

The teen told troopers he was out snowmachining and happened upon the bonfire and didn’t know anybody who was there, Peters said.

—Andrew Wellner