HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE OPERATIONS BUREAU
ASSISTANT CHIEF WENDELL D. PAIVA
PHONE: 961-2341
APRIL 17, 2002
MEDIA RELEASE
A patrol officer responding to a theft-in-progress report shot and wounded a suspect early Wednesday (April 17, 2002).
The shooting occurred when officers assigned to the South Hilo Patrol Division responded to a 3:12 a.m. call about a theft in progress at a laundromat on Shipman Street across from the Hilo Armory in downtown Hilo.
On arrival, the officers encountered two adult males in a vehicle parked across the street from the laundromat.
While attempting to flee the scene and refusing an order to stop, the driver of the vehicle was shot and wounded by one of the responding police officers, a 20-year veteran with the Hawaii County Police Department.
The wounded suspect, described as an adult male, was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.
Detectives from the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section were called to the scene, where they are trying to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the shooting.
Police said more information would be released as detectives complete their investigation.
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