Posted on: Sunday, June 17, 2001

Man shot by police recovering in Hilo

Advertiser Staff and News Services

HILO, Hawai'i — A 19-year-old Big Island man shot by police Thursday night in the 'Ainaloa subdivision outside of Pahoa in Puna has improved to satisfactory condition at Hilo Medical Center, authorities reported yesterday.

The man, who was shot in the chest after leaving a car inside which a gun had been fired, had improved from guarded condition. He is under investigation in a criminal case involving possible charges of kidnapping, terroristic threatening, reckless endangering, firearms violation and robbery.

Police have not released his name, nor has he been arrested or charged.

The wounded man's companion died of an apparent suicide, police said. He was identified as Shaun "Mike" Thompson, 20, of 'Ainaloa. Thompson suffered apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds to his head and his face, according to an autopsy.

The investigation into the incident as well as a separate internal investigation involving the police officer who shot the 19-year-old were ongoing yesterday.

The driver of the car, a 64-year-old woman, and her passenger, a 55-year-old man, flagged police for help Thursday night and said the men had forced their way inside the car. The driver and passenger remained unnamed yesterday, as did the four officers involved in the case.

Police were responding to calls about a gunshot in the neighborhood before the confrontation at the entrance to the subdivision.