Hawai‘i police fatally shoot driver of Big Island stolen car

KAILUA-KONA — Police on Friday fatally shot the driver of a stolen car on the Big Island, after he allegedly failed to obey their commands to show his hands, law enforcement officers said.

Another man — who police believe was driving a related stolen vehicle — is at large and wanted for attempted murder, after he was reported to have allegedly shot a woman during a domestic dispute on Tuesday, according to officers.

The episode began earlier this week when detectives started looking for the domestic shooting suspect, the Hawaii Police Department said.

On Friday, plainclothes detectives received information that the suspect was in the company of several individuals who had possession of two stolen vehicles — a Chevy Malibu and a Dodge sedan, the department said in a news release.

Officers canvassing the Kona area saw the Chevy and “attempted to contact the vehicle’s occupants” after it stopped at an intersection, police said. Officers shot the driver after he allegedly ignored their commands to show them his hands and “began reaching for an object,” police said

“Fearing for their safety, two officers discharged their duty weapons, striking the driver,” police said. The driver died at the scene. A passenger suffered minor injuries after the car went down an embankment.

Police said they won’t release the name of the deceased until after his relatives have been notified.

The department said its Office of Professional Standards has started an internal administrative investigation into the shooting. The detectives are 25- and 13-year veterans of the force.

The suspect in the domestic dispute shooting was observed in the Dodge sedan heading north toward Waimea town, according to law enforcement. Police followed him to Hamakua where they last saw him on foot wearing a plaid shirt and jeans in a secluded area near a gulch.

The woman injured in the domestic shooting was in stable condition at Kona Community Hospital, police said.