Couple dead at Oahu assisted living center; note found

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Crime scene tape is seen outside the Plaza assisted living community after a double homicide on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Honolulu. An elderly man and woman with gunshot wounds died Tuesday at a Honolulu assisted living center in what police are calling a murder-suicide. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)
A Honolulu medical examiner arrives on the scene at the Plaza assisted living community after a double homicide on Tuesday in Honolulu. An elderly man and woman with gunshot wounds died Tuesday at a Honolulu assisted living center in what police are calling a murder-suicide. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)
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HONOLULU — An elderly couple with gunshot wounds died Tuesday at an Oahu assisted living center and a note was left behind indicating they took their lives, police said.

Honolulu Police Lt. Deena Thoemmes declined to detail the note’s contents. She said police are investigating whether it was a murder-suicide or two suicides.

The 86-year-old woman was a resident of The Plaza at Waikiki, while her 92-year-old husband lived nearby, Thoemmes said. The husband was visiting his wife in a sitting area of the facility’s garage.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s fatal, domestic incident, which occurred in the parking garage of The Plaza at Waikiki,” said Tricia Medeiros, chief operating officer of The Plaza Assisted Living.

She said in a statement that the company was offering counseling services to its residents and employees.

According to its website, the Waikiki facility has room for up to 170 residents, offering month-to-month senior rentals in private studio, private one-bedroom and shared suites.

The Plaza Assisted Living also runs similar senior homes in five other locations in and around Honolulu.

Company officials didn’t immediately return messages from The Associated Press.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said the man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene.

Autopsies of the couple are scheduled for Wednesday, Thoemmes said.

Associated Press journalist Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.