Breaking!
Authorities on Hawaii’s Big Island launched a dragnet in paradise after a police officer was shot dead during a traffic stop late Tuesday and suspect fled into a wooded area off a major highway.
The Hawai’i Police Department said in a news release that officers were conducting a traffic stop around 9:45 p.m. along Highway 11 in Mountain View, located about 15 miles southwest of Hilo, when the driver of the vehicle — identified as 33-year-old Justin Waiki — got out and fired “multiple shots” at officers.
Police said that Officer Bronson K. Kaliloa was struck in the “neck and leg area,” as other officers at the scene immediately returned fire.
The officer was transported to Hilo Medical Center, where he underwent surgery but pronounced dead just before 1 a.m.
“Officer Kaliloa, a 10-year veteran of the Hawaiʻi Police Department, leaves behind his wife and three small children,” police said.
The deadly shooting incident prompted a heavy police presence in the area and forced officers to shut down Highway 11, which connects to other parts of the island, according to KHON.
Witnesses told Hawaii News Now that up to 50 police cars, as well as an armored vehicle, responded to the area around 10:30 p.m
#BREAKIN: Sources say a Hawai’i Island police officer died in the line of duty after he was shot & killed overnight in Mountain View. The gunman is reportedly still on the loose and a manhunt in underway. Hwy 11 detour at N Kulani Rd https://t.co/jdK7GQSl0q @HawaiiNewsNow #HINews pic.twitter.com/s3iEJoLRWf
— Mileka Lincoln (@MilekaLincoln) July 18, 2018
“I was driving up the road and I seen lights and then I saw a lot of lights and then I pulled over to turn around, but I thought it was a car accident and I’m medically trained so I was going to offer to help,” Leo Klink told the news outlet. “That’s when the cop pulled his gun and I realized this obviously isn’t a car accident. The cop came running around the car and I think he thought I might have been involved in it or could be. I don’t know, but he was pretty assertive about me turning around.”
Waiki is described as 5’11” in height, approximately 145 pounds, last seen wearing a white t-shirt and dark colored jacket, and is considered to be armed and dangerous. The 33-year-old suspect was last known to have a Las Vegas address, and was wanted on an outstanding no bail warrant.
Police said that he is not to be approached, and that anyone with information his whereabouts is asked to contact authorities immediately.
Since the start of 2018, at least 47 law enforcement officers across the U.S. have died while on duty — with 29 of the deaths caused by gunfire, according to a review of data by Fox News.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.