WAIMEA VALLEY — After stabbing four people and killing one, a 21-year-old Waimea Valley man was shot to death by a Kaua‘i Police Department officer Friday. At approximately 11 a.m., the suspect used a large knife to attack two men
WAIMEA VALLEY — After stabbing four people and killing one, a 21-year-old Waimea Valley man was shot to death by a Kaua‘i Police Department officer Friday.
At approximately 11 a.m., the suspect used a large knife to attack two men and two women in a Waimea Valley neighborhood, KPD Chief Darryl Perry said in a press conference.
The three surviving victims were transported to Kaua’i Veterans Memorial Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be non life-threatening injuries, Perry said.
The incident began on Menehune Road when the suspect allegedly attacked his grandfather, age 83. The victim collapsed in a grassy area across from his residence and remained there until paramedics arrived, a neighbor said.
The suspect moved on to another house, where he stabbed and killed a 68-year-old woman, Perry said. He then walked a short distance and attacked a couple outside of their home. The 63-year-old man and 50-year-old woman were both stabbed but the injuries they sustained were not life-threatening.
At least one police officer was at the scene at the time of the final stabbing, Perry said. The officer attempted to stop the suspect, who ignored verbal commands and continued the attack.
He said the officer shot the suspect, who then attempted to flee on foot but collapsed. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
The neighbor reported hearing four shots and then two, but Perry was unable to confirm this information. The neighbor also reported seeing paramedics on the scene prior to the arrival of KPD.
The suspect was recently released from a mental health facility and had been behaving strangely, the neighbor said, but this information was not confirmed by press time.
In accordance policies and procedures, KPD has placed the officer involved with the shooting on required administrative leave, Perry said in his statement. He will be assigned to desk duty pending the outcome of criminal and internal administrative investigations.
KPD is participating in the process of coordinating counseling for all involved parties, Perry said, including family members of the suspect and the victims. He expressed his condolences to the victims and their families at the press conference.
The preliminary investigation showed that the use of deadly force was based on the assessment of the injuries inflicted on the four victims with a knife, Perry said, and the suspect’s refusal to comply with the officer’s attempt to effect an arrest, as well as the substantial risk of injury or death that would have continued to others, if apprehension was delayed.
Police closed off Menehune Road at the Maile Road junction near the scene of the police-involved shooting. It was less than one block away from the Menehune and Ape Place intersection, where police had a second crime scene investigation at the home of the suspect’s grandfather. The crime scene investigation lasted into the evening.
Officer-involved shootings are rare on Kaua‘i. The most recent was Oct. 5, 2005, when an armed Waimea man threatened and injured KPD officers near KPD headquarters.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
