On the evening of Saturday, April 10th, an armed man barricaded himself in his fourth floor room at Honolulu’s Kahala Hotel & Resort and , “fired multiple rounds through the door of his hotel room.”
As per ABC News’ Honolulu affiliate KITV, Honolulu Police Department Capt. Brian Lynch said authorities responded to a 911 call that said multiple shots had been fired at the hotel.
It wasn’t clear why the man had barricaded himself in his room to begin with, but as per police, hotel security staff knocked on his door a bit before 6:00pm. That’s when the man begin firing shots at the door.
“Thankfully, the security guard wasn’t standing in front of the door,” Lynch said.
911 was called and negotiators were put in place to try to bring a peaceful end to the standoff.
The resort was immediately put on lockdown as police and other authorities tried to apprehend the man. Hotel guests in surrounding rooms were evacuated. Other guests who were in their rooms were told via hotel loudspeaker to shelter in place, stay away from windows and doors, and stay off their balconies (for fear the gunman might shoot from his own balcony). Many guests who were enjoying the resort were evacuated to the hotel’s ballroom and lobby.
I’m in the lobby of @KahalaResort in Honolulu for the past 30min and there’s been reports of a mentally ill person w a gun.
We are thankfully fine but feeing such sadness that we’re experiencing this fear only a month after Colorado and Georgia. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/0bq7E9n0M5
— Elizabeth (@MusingMurmurs) April 11, 2021
The Kahala Hotel & Resort released this statement during the event:
This evening, an individual with a firearm barricaded himself in one of the guest rooms at The Kahala. Our security personnel and law enforcement have evacuated guests and employees from the immediate area and everyone is sheltering in place. We ask that the public refrain from entering the area surrounding the hotel at this time. We will provide further updates as they become available.
The first shot occurred around 5:40pm and the lockdown didn’t end until about 3:30am, when SWAT officers managed to enter the suspect’s hotel room, where they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It was determined that the gunman, who was alone in his room at the time of the incident but may have had family staying with him, was a member of the U.S. Navy and may have been stationed on Oahu.
From U.S. Navy Commander Cindy Fields, spokesperson for Pacific Submarine Force:
A sailor from the Pacific Submarine Force is deceased. We are deeply saddened by the loss of a shipmate. Our thoughts and condolences go to the family and friends. Each member of our Navy team is important. This is tragic loss to our force and the Navy family. We live and work here. We appreciate the support of law enforcement and the community.
Following the event, the hotel released another statement:
We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred last night on our property, and we are focused on supporting our guests and employees at this time. We thank the law enforcement officers who responded quickly to ensure everyone’s safety. We are working with the Honolulu Police Department as they conduct their investigation and ask that questions about this incident be addressed to HPD.
Police say that attempted murder and reckless endangering cases have been opened.
Sources: Twitter, ABC, KHON
Feature Photo: Kahala Hotel & Resort
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
I think the use of the word “Terror” in this isn’t really accurate. It was known what caused this. This was a Navy officer staying at the hotel and his wife notified authorities that he was suicidal. Sadly he ended up taking his own life.
Thank-you for the backstory – the wife, and her notifying authorities were not mentioned in any of resources I read. Had I known that, I probably would have used a different title.