TIM WRIGHT / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii County police officer Jeremy Kobojiri secured access to Beach Road in Hawaiian Paradise Park on Thursday following an officer-involved shooting.
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A police officer Thursday afternoon shot and killed a man who police said pointed a gun at him during a struggle in Puna on Hawaii island.
Police said they received a call at 1:20 p.m. that a man possibly armed with a weapon was in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision.
Police said they searched the subdivision and found a man seated in a pickup truck on Beach Road, near Kaloli Drive.
Two officers approached the vehicle, “made contact with the man and a struggle ensued,” police said in a news release.
According to police, the man in the truck pointed a handgun at one of the officers during the struggle.
The officer responded by firing his weapon, killing the man, police said.
The man’s name and age were withheld Thursday night, pending positive identification and notification of family, police said.
The officer who fired his weapon is a nine-year veteran of the Hawaii Police Department. The other officer, who has five years of experience, was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries but was not injured by gunfire.
The Criminal Investigations Section and Office of Professional Standards are conducting investigations, as is standard practice in any police-involved shooting.
Anyone witnessing the incident is asked to call Detective Tuckloy Aurello at 961-2385. Anonymous calls can be made to CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
