Three people hit by BB gun in Mountain View

Anchorage police say two separate investigations appear connected by one location. According to APD three people, including a child reported being hit by BB pellets in the area of Mountain View Drive and Park Lane.

14-year-old Patrick Frerich walks his dog Bella everyday after school.On Monday a curve ball flew into this teenager's routine."I thought it was a piece of rock from a tire that a car flung up," he said.

Instead, a BB pellet tore through Frerich's jacket and hit his chest. "I wondered how it got there." Frerich was not seriously injured and had a family member help remove the pellet. The teenager says he hasn't been nervous getting back to his strolls with Bella through Mountain View.

Bravery his mom, Tasha Hotch, attributes to open conversations about public safety."I’ve really embedded with him that we can’t stop random things from happening. We have no control over it and that we really need to do what we can to not let that fear of the unknown control our life."

Frerich wasn't the only person apparently hit with BB pellets Monday. Only a few hours after Frerich said he was struck, Anchorage police say two men reported also being hit by pellets on the same block.

APD said it doesn't have any suspect information in either case at this time. Frerich's grandmother told KTUU by phone Thursday she is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to a conviction in her grandson's case.

APD suggests anyone with information in the cases to contact the new non-emergency number at 311 or submit tips anonymously through crime stoppers.

The Mountain View Community Council says it's going to use the seemingly random act of violence to have a conversation with officers about proactively keeping the streets safe. "People always have something to say about our neighborhood but we have a very tight knit community that cares," Jasmine Smith, President of the Mountain View Community Council said.

"When something happens we do rally together and we do respond and think about what's the greater good for the neighborhood." Smith said the community conversation is scheduled for Friday night at 6 o'clock and is open to the public.