An unidentified man is dead Friday following a second officer-involved shooting in less than a week in East Hawaii.
About 11:20 a.m. Friday, patrol officers in Hilo responded to a residential break-in at the 1800 block of Kilauea Avenue in Hilo, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Officers entered the vacant home and hiding in one of the bedrooms was a man armed with two knives. The unidentified man cut an officer on the arm with one of the knives, police said.
Two of the responding officers fired shots from their duty weapons killing the suspect, police said.
At this time the police are still investigating the matter and will release more details as they become available. Anyone with information regarding this incident should call Detective Jeremy Kubojiri of the Area I Criminal Investigations Section at (808) 961-2378 or via email at Jeremy.Kubojiri@hawaiicounty.gov.
The criminal investigation division and office of professional standards is on scene conducting an investigation as is standard protocol in such incidents.
The police have closed a portion Kilauea Avenue temporarily while they continue this investigation.
The injured officer was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment and is in stable condition following the incident.
“We ask for patience as we work through this critical incident and allow the investigators to do their jobs so that all the pieces of this terrible incident can be put together. Our thoughts are with the effected families at this time. This is the second such attack against a police officer within a week,” the department said.
The department is still investigating a Sunday evening officer-involved shooting that left the suspect 34-year-old Ryan Yukiharu Santos dead.
Autopsies performed Tuesday on Santos and on his 91-year-old grandfather with the pathologist determining that Santos died from a single gunshot wound to the left shoulder area. The final autopsy report is pending toxicology results, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Santos’ grandfather died from an acute heart attack that he suffered during the course of this incident, police said.
South Hilo patrol officers responded to a 7:10 p.m. Sunday call of a physical domestic at a residence on Mokuhonua Lane in Hilo, according to the Hawaii Police Department. Upon arrival, officers attempted to contact the occupants of the residence.
A man then came out of the rear of the residence with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on the officers at the scene, police said. One officer, a 13-year veteran of the department, returned fire and struck the suspect.
During the course of the incident, Santos’ grandfather appeared to go into cardiac arrest. He was transported by medics to Hilo Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
Anyone who may have information about this incident should call the department’s nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311 or Detective John Balberde of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2386 or via email at John.Balberde@hawaiicounty.gov.