Police, first responders surround Honolulu supermarket amid barricade situation
VICTORIA BUDIONO / VBUDIONO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A crowd gathered outside the Don Quijote supermarket on Kaheka Street following a disturbance inside apparently involving a man who barricaded himself in the store.
VICTORIA BUDIONO / VBUDIONO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Onlookers and police are seen outside the Don Quijote supermarket on Kaheka Street this evening as a barricade situation forced the store to close.
VICTORIA BUDIONO / VBUDIONO@STARADVERTISER.COM
The front entrance of the Don Quijote Honolulu store on Kaheka Street this evening. A disturbance inside apparently involving a man who barricaded himself in the store forced the business to close.
VICTORIA BUDIONO / VBUDIONO@STARADVERTISER.COM
The front entrance of the Don Quijote supermarket on Kaheka Street this evening. A disturbance inside apparently involving a man who barricaded himself in the store forced the business to close.
UPDATE
As of 8 p.m., sources reported that the HPD has been attempting to establish contact with a suspect barricaded inside the liquor cooler room at Don Quijote.
However, efforts to communicate with the individual have so far been unsuccessful.
EARLIER
Around 5:45 p.m. today, Don Quijote supermarket on Kaheka Street was forced to close as at least a dozen police vehicles, emergency medical services units and Honolulu Fire Department trucks surrounded the area in response to an unfolding incident.
Kainoa Sastra, a 23-year-old tourist from San Francisco, said he was shopping at the supermarket with a friend and using the self-checkout when a commotion erupted in the liquor section at approximately 5:05 p.m.
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“There were aggressive, loud, screaming noises,” Sastra said, adding that the disturbance was quickly followed by the sound of glass bottles smashing.
Sastra said other shoppers claimed to have seen a person armed with a knife.
As of 6 p.m., the suspect had barricaded himself inside the supermarket.
A video circulating on social media showed witnesses alleging that the individual was throwing liquor bottles and had started a fire inside the store.
By 6:20 p.m., another group of HPD officers dressed in tactical gear entered the building. At around 6:30 p.m., store personnel were overheard saying that the suspect had locked himself in the freezer.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
