Gun rampage at Pearl Harbour

A US Navy sailor shot dead two civilians working at Hawaii’s historic military base of Pearl Harbour on Wednesday and wounded a third before turning his gun on himself, military officials said.

Authorities did not identify the victims or the gunman, described by a witness as wearing a US Navy uniform, but local media reported they were all men.

Base officials said the victims were civilians working for the US defence department.

It was not immediately clear what the gunman’s motive was for the shooting, three days before the 78th anniversary of the December 7 1941 attack on the naval base that led the US to declare war on Japan and enter World War 2.

The gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the third victim was in stable condition in hospital, military officials told a news briefing.

“We have confirmed that two [victims] are deceased,” regional commander Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick said.

“The gunman has tentatively been identified as an activeduty sailor assigned to USS Columbia SSN 771,” he said.

The base, a combined US Air Force and Navy installation located 13km from the state capital of Honolulu, was placed on lockdown for two hours after the incident at about 2.30pm.

“We have no indication yet whether [the victims] were targeted or if it was a random shooting,” Chadwick said.

He said he also did not know the type of weapon used by the attacker and that bringing personal weapons on the base was not authorised.

Emergency services sent ambulances and firefighters to the scene, which was secured by late on Wednesday and the base reopened.

An unidentified witness told Hawaii News Now he had heard gunfire near Drydock 2 of the base and looked up from his desk to see the gunman, wearing a US Navy uniform, put the weapon to his head and shoot himself.

“Details are still emerging as security forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam investigate,” Hawaii Governor David Ige said, using the official name of the base.

The White House had offered him assistance from federal agencies as needed, Ige said.

A White House spokesperson said: “The president has been briefed on the shooting and continues to monitor the situation.”

Hawaii police detectives are assisting the military in an investigation that could require up to 100 witnesses to be interviewed, media reports said.