By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
A Honolulu Police officer shot and wounded a 34-year-old man in Mililani Mauka early this morning after the officer believed the man was reaching for a weapon.
The man, whose name was not released, was in guarded condition at The Queen’s Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his neck. The officer, 29, is a nine-year veteran of the force and he was not injured.
The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. when police received a call that a man with a gun had demanded money from another man at the Mililani Town Center. Police Chief Lee Donohue said the suspect said he would return to the shopping complex in an hour to collect the money.
About an hour later, a man on a motorcycle drove into the center’s parking lot. Officers ran a check on the license plate and determined that the motorcycle had been stolen.
The officers attempted to confront the man, but he drove off and headed in the Mililani Mauka area. One officer found the motorcycle on its side at the end of Meheula Parkway and saw a man crouched behind a mound.
The officer said the man appeared to be reaching into a bag. At that point, Donohue said, the officer fired a single shot at the man.
The man was struck in the neck and the bullet lodged in his shoulder, Donohue said. He was taken to Queen’s where he was in guarded condition this afternoon.
Donohue said the department was seeking a search warrant to go through the man’s fanny pack to determine if he had a weapon. The officer was placed on routine administrative leave while an investigation into the shooting is conducted, Donohue said.
The Mililani incident was the second within six hours that involved Honolulu police officers firing their guns.
Shortly after 10 last night, officers shot and killed Michell Udani, 26, at Ala Moana Center after he allegedly shot a woman to death.
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