A $10 bet between three roommates late Sunday evening went badly wrong.
The bet: Is the Carrs Safeway store on Debarr Road still open?
To figure out who was right, the men walked to the grocery store from a South Hoyt Street trailer that was their shared residence. The store is open 24 hours a day and was in fact open when the group arrived.
"When they found out, (the victim) didn't want to pay up," said APD spokesperson Anita Shell.
No one was drinking at the time, Shell said, but an argument broke out among the group.
According to the unnamed 19-year-old victim, 25-year-old James Smith pointed a handgun at his head and pulled the trigger. The gun was loaded but malfunctioned.
Smith and the victim fought for the gun, and at some point the other roommate -- 23-year-old Kendrick Mathews -- allegedly punched the victim.
The victim eventually controlled the gun and ran for the door. As he was running away from the trailer, Smith gave chase and struck him with a metal handle from a floor jack.
The victim made it to a nearby convenience store on Bragaw Street. He called police from there at about 11:30 p.m.
Officers arrested Mathews and Smith, both of whom are charged with assault. Smith also faces an attempted murder charge.
Both men are being held in the Anchorage Jail, Smith without bail and Mathews in lieu of $15,000 bail with a court-approved third-party custodian required for release.
Shell said the victim was injured in the assault but not hospitalized.
"He sustained contusions and lacerations, so injuries were relatively minor," she said.
Channel 2's Chris Klint contributed to this story.
Editor's note: APD has clarified that the victim, not the suspects as initially stated by police, lost the $10 bet.