The man killed in Waianae is the fourth shooting this year involving a police officer

A Honolulu police officer killed an armed suspect in Waianae Wednesday night after the suspect shot three people and refused to drop his weapon, Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan said.

Officers responded to reports of a street argument and gunshots at Puhinalo Place after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Logan told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

They heard screams coming from inside a house and went around the back to see a man armed with a gun standing behind a broken glass door, he said.

The officer closest to the man ordered him to drop his weapon, but instead he backed away and released the gun's slide, which loads the weapon and makes it ready to fire, Logan said. At that point, the officer fired two shots at him, and he fell to the ground. Officers administered first aid until paramedics arrived.

The suspect had previously fired four shots at the home, which belongs to a relative of his girlfriend, wounding three people – two women, ages 32 and 34, and a 25-year-old man. He had argued with and attacked his 76-year-old girlfriend before the shooting, but she was not among those shot, Logan said.

The pistol he used had been stolen and officers found a homemade rifle in his house.

The three injured are expected to recover and no police officers were injured, Logan said.

The officer who shot the suspect is assigned to Precinct 8 in Waianae and has four years of experience. He has been offered administrative leave.

The suspect's name will be released by the Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office. Logan said the man has 14 prior convictions and police were called to his home in 2023 for making terroristic threats and in 2022 for a domestic dispute with his girlfriend.

Although he owned a registered firearm, officers were unable to find it in his home, Logan said.

The officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras and Logan said police would release the video but did not give a timeline.

The shooting was the fourth police-involved shooting this year. Officers shot and killed Eric John Walsh, 56, in Waikiki on July 19 after he barricaded himself in an apartment and pointed a gun at officers. Brandan Maroney, 35, was killed by an officer on Jan. 25 after he was found walking with a knife in the middle of Farrington Highway in Makaha. Officers shot and killed Sidney Tafokitau, 44, in Honolulu after an island-wide manhunt and pursuit.

No bodycam or other video footage has been released in any of the incidents.

District 8, which stretches from Ewa Beach to Kaena Point, has seen the highest violent crime rate of any part of Oahu this year. According to Honolulu Police Department data, there have been 134 aggravated assaults and four murders and manslaughters so far. Last year, there were 10 murders and manslaughters and 253 aggravated assaults.

According to HNN, a 31-year-old man was shot and killed in Waianae Boat Harbor last week.

When asked what he would do about the violence, Logan did not offer a strategy or promise to send more police to West Oahu. Instead, he emphasized that community members need to come forward and give police more information.

“We need everyone's help,” he said. “This is not just a police problem, it's a problem for society as a whole.”