Don Quijote supermarket on Kaheka Street was forced to close around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday as at least a dozen police vehicles, Emergency Medical Service units and Honolulu Fire Department trucks surrounded the area after a man barricaded himself inside the store.

More than two hours later, at 8 p.m., sources at the scene said the Honolulu Police Department was attempting to contact the man, who had barricaded himself inside the liquor cooler room.

Kainoa Sastra, a 23-year-old visitor 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 about 5:05 p.m.

“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 said they saw a person armed with a knife.

As of 6 p.m., the man had barricaded himself inside the supermarket. A video circulating on social media showed witnesses alleging that the man 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 said the man had locked himself in the freezer.