Police Officer Wounds Kona Man Threatening Suicide

A shooting by a police officer in Kona Monday night that wounded a man may have headed off a suicide.

Police responding to a 9:08 p.m. report of an attempted suicide at a home on Manu Male Street Kailua-Kona encountered a man standing outside the house holding a rifle.

The unidentified 33-year-old man refused orders from police to put down the rifle and instead attempted to use the weapon on himself.

At that point an officer shot the man in his right shoulder, which caused him to drop the rifle.

The man was taken to Kona Community Hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

The officer involved was a 31-year-old, eight-year veteran of the police department. Per department policy, the officer is not being identified.

As is standard procedure for shootings involving police, the officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave, said Maj. Samuel Thomas, head of the department’s Administrative Services Division.

Meanwhile, the department’s Criminal Investigations Section will conduct a probe into the incident, and the Office of Professional Standards will conduct an administrative investigation.