A Hawaii resort was closed for hours on an early Sunday after a hotel guest, believed to be a local military man, started firing through the door at staff, according to police.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the immediate area around the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu since late Saturday, and many gathered in a makeshift security room in a ballroom, according to local reports.
Police also cleared beaches and beachfront restaurants after the first shot around 6 p.m. Saturday for fear the gunman could shoot from the balcony of his hotel, officials said. Hawaii News Now.
The suspect is believed to have been a member of the Navy living on Oahu and his military commander responded to the scene, where members of his family were also assisting the police, the media reported.
Police say he first shot through the door when hotel security personnel came up and knocked on his door. It was not immediately clear what led them to go to his room.
“Fortunately, the security guard was not in front of the door,” Honolulu police captain Brian Lynch told Hawaii News Now.
After that first shot, he later shot through the door several times while officers in the hallway told him his name, with at least five shots, police reported at the exit.
Negotiators continued to try to end the game early Sunday.
“No one is injured. Everyone is counted, “Lynch told reporters at the scene.” We’re just waiting for the suspect to resign. “
The suspect is believed to have been staying at the resort with family members, all of them in a safe place and not with him, as he remained barricaded in the room, officials told KITV4.
The Kahala Hotel & Resort told the station that “security staff and law enforcement have evacuated guests and employees from the immediate area and everyone is in their place.”
“We ask the public to refrain from entering the area surrounding the hotel at this time,” the station said in a statement.
Staff handed out food, blankets and pillows to those who were forced to fall into a ballroom or lobby, Hawaii News Now said.
With publishing cables