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Hawaii County police Tuesday arrested a 30-year-old Kailua-Kona man on suspicion of criminal property damage at one of the telescope facilities on Mauna Kea.
Officers responded to a report of a traffic accident involving a disorderly man at 9:30 a.m., police spokeswoman Chris Loos said. Additional reports indicated he attempted to forcibly enter one of the facilities.
The man was alone when he allegedly drove a vehicle onto the Very Long Baseline Array station, damaging the installation’s fence, building and official vehicles, according to a news release from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which also stated that the station’s two employees were uninjured.
“Initial reports indicate that the radio-telescope antenna is undamaged,” the observatory said.
Police arrested the man on suspicion of criminal property damage.
He is being held at the South Hilo police cellblock pending further investigation.
University of Hawaii spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said there is no indication the man was part of any movement opposed to the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, but university officials will await the outcome of a police investigation.
As soon as Mauna Kea Support Services learned of the incident, staff closed access to the visitor information center. It was expected to reopen by the end of the day.
A side road, where the damage occurred Tuesday, will remain closed until further notice, Meisenzahl said.
Mauna Kea Support Services personnel are cooperating with authorities, he said.
The Very Long Baseline Array station is a continentwide radio telescope system, with 10 25-meter diameter dish antennas, of which the Mauna Kea antenna is the westernmost. One is in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the other eight are on the mainland.
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