WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — More than 50 shell casings were found in the park where police fatally shot a man they say fired at officers.
The 39-year-old man died at Keopuolani Park Wednesday night after being shot about 11 times, Criminal Investigation Division Commander Capt. David Silva said in a Friday morning news conference.
The man took pullets in several parts of his body, from his legs to the top of his torso.
Nine of the casings found at the scene were from bullets fired from the man’s gun, according to police.
On Wednesday night, officers were responding to a complaint that a man in Keopuolani Park was claiming to be a law enforcement officer. Maui Police Department spokesman Lt. William Juan said the man seemed agitated and confrontation when patrol officers spoke with him around 9 p.m.
“As the man was walking away from the officers, he removed a handgun from his waistband, turned and began firing in the direction of the officers,” Juan said. “They, in turn, exchanged fire.”
Officers began life-saving efforts once the man was incapacitated and medics later took over, said Juan.
The shootings were in a park area above the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s photovoltaic system.
Police said Friday they weren’t releasing the dead man’s name because they were still trying to locate his family. They said he had been on Maui for about two years after spending three years living on Oahu.
He didn’t have a local address, Silva said.
Silva said the man didn’t have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The handgun he was carrying was legal and registered to a business, according to detective Gordon Sagun.
An autopsy was done Thursday but final results weren’t available Friday, Juan said.
The three police officers involved in the shooting are seven-, four- and one-year veterans of the Maui Police Department and are currently on paid administrative leave. The leave is standard procedure for such incidents.
One officer suffered minor injuries, police said.
Juan called the Wednesday shooting a “tragic event.”
