Hawaii mourns two police officers killed in Honolulu shooting
HONOLULU — Two police officers were killed in a shooting Sunday in the normally peaceful Honolulu, Hawaii’s governor said in a statement.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that officers had responded to an assault call when they encountered a male with a firearm, who then opened fire, striking two officers.
“Our entire state mourns the loss of two Honolulu Police officers killed in the line of duty this morning,” Governor David Ige said.
The shots were fired in a neighborhood at the far end of the Waikiki Beach between the Honolulu Zoo and the famed Diamond Head State Monument. The area would be packed with tourists and locals, especially on a weekend.
“It sounded like a lot of shots, or a lot of popping, loud noises going on,” said Honolulu resident Peter Murray. “So hope everybody is all right. Some people got hurt today.”
Some residents said they smelled smoke before hearing gunshots.
“A little bit before 10, we started smelling some smoke, we were in our condominium which is just across the street here, and we didn’t think much about it, so we walked downstairs and went outside to go on down to Waikiki and obviously we started noticed all the emergency vehicles responding and then we started hearing sporadic gunshots,” said resident Robert Brassfield, who also lives part time in California. “That went on for several minutes.”
A home the suspected gunman was believed to be inside caught fire and was quickly engulfed by flames. The fire at the home has since spread to several neighboring homes and a parked police vehicle.
According to court records, Lois Cain, who owns the home that caught fire, filed an ejection complaint last week against tenant Jaroslav Hanel, also known as Jarda Hanel and Jerry
Hanel.
Hanel had mental health issues, including thinking the government was watching him and tapping his phone, said Jonathan Burge, his lawyer since 2015.
Burge represented him for various disputes with neighbors, including temporary restraining orders neighbors had against him.
Hanel used Czech interpreters in court, he said, and was originally from the Czech Republic.
Cain was trying to evict him. “Maybe that’s what set him off,” Burge said. “I never expected him to do that.”
“I’ve never known him to be violent,” the lawyer said. “He’s kind of a quirky guy and had problems.”
Cain was supportive of Hanel in his disputes with neighbors, but their relationship soured recently when his dog died and he wanted a new one, Burge said. She wouldn’t allow him to get a dog.
Neighbors on both sides of the house had temporary restraining orders against Hanel, Burge said.
Nearby resident Dolores Sandvold said she heard screaming and gunshots, and saw that someone had been stabbed. She said she was led out of the area and that she had yet to be allowed back into her home.
“I saw the victim being carried to the ambulance with many, many knife wounds,” she said.
Kailua resident John Farmer said the fire spread to his sister’s nearby house, which burned down. “He’s been a problem for 10 years,” Farmer said.