Big Island police were involved in what a Hawaii Police Department spokesman called “a shooting incident” at about noon Monday on Stainback Highway above the county’s Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Equestrian Center.
“It involved a male individual being shot at,” said Maj. Sam Thomas of the department’s Administrative Services Division. “The male individual was taken into custody and transported from the scene to the Hilo Medical Center for treatment. We’re still gathering facts on the scene.”
Thomas confirmed that at least one officer discharged a weapon but declined to provide any other details, saying the incident is “under investigation.”
There was a report, unconfirmed, that a 38-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound or wounds and was taken by ambulance to the Hilo Medical Center.
Stainback Highway was closed to traffic between the zoo entrance and the intersection of North Kulani Road while police investigated on Monday afternoon.