Puna standoff suspect fatally shoots self

HAWAIIAN BEACHES — An armed man who had holed up in a car at a lower Hawaiian Beaches residence ended a tense, 12-hour standoff with officers by shooting himself to death shortly before 1 p.m., police said Tuesday afternoon.

Police aren’t identifying the man, pending an autopsy later in the week and notification of next of kin.

“We have a good idea who he is. We can’t confirm it at this point,” Capt. Randall Medeiros of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section said late Tuesday afternoon.

The incident started at about 12:20 a.m. when officers responded to reports of gunshots fired at the Kamanu Street home. Arriving officers were confronted by a man with a firearm seated inside a vehicle parked in the home’s driveway, police said.

The police response included crisis negotiators and the Special Response Team — the Hawaii Police Department’s SWAT unit.

As the standoff continued to unfold, Assistant Chief Marshall Kanehailua said the suspect fired shots at officers, but no one was injured. Police later backed off that statement somewhat in a written release, saying it was unclear if the shots were directed toward the officers.

Medeiros later said shots had hit police vehicles.

A woman was inside the home, but Kanehailua said SRT officers “performed a maneuver” to remove her from the scene without any physical harm.

Medeiros said after the incident that the woman was not considered a hostage.

“She exited the residence on her own and the (SRT) personnel assisted her when she exited,” he explained.

Medeiros said “there may have been a domestic component to” the situation, but didn’t elaborate.

Police evacuated nearby residents and closed off several area streets, including Kamanu, Papio, Welea, Puhi and Uiui.

Kanehailua said the negotiators had “a good dialogue going” with the suspect, whom Kanehailua said had indicated he had another person in the car, a claim police weren’t able to substantiate at the time.

“That’s why we’re approaching this cautiously,” Kanehailua said.

Medeiros said afterward that the suspect was alone in the car.

“He spoke at length to our negotiators. He spoke to them about a lot of things. What all the specifics are, I don’t know, at this point,” he said.

Negotiations apparently soured sometime after noon, as the gunshots again started at 12:14 p.m., with six shots fired intermittently from what sounded like a small-caliber firearm. Three shots rang out at 12:27 p.m., with another three fired at 12:35 p.m.

The final gunshot sounded at 12:40 p.m.

During the noontime gunfire, an officer was talking to the suspect with a bullhorn, repeating variations of, “This is the police SWAT team. Leave the gun inside the car, come out with your hands up, and we won’t harm you.”

Following the incident, Puna Parkway and Papio Street remained closed from Kahakai Boulevard, cutting off access to Kamanu Street, while police and civilian crime scene technicians collected and processed evidence on-site.

Police announced all roads in the area were reopened at 3:45 p.m.

Tribune-Herald reporter Tom Callis contributed to this story.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.