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Kealoha: Police are prepared if similar incident happened here

By Marcie Kagawa

POSTED: 01:19 p.m. HST, Dec 14, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 04:38 p.m. HST, Dec 14, 2012

CRAIG T. KOJIMA/CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha speaks at a news conference in the mayor's office today. Behind him (l to r) are Mayor Peter Carlisle, Emergency Management Department Director Melvin Kaku and Fire Chief Kenneth Silva.

In the wake of the deadly shooting at a Newton, Conn. elementary school, Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha said today the city is prepared should there be a similar incident on Oahu.

“I can tell you that we’ve been prepared to address these kinds of incidents,” he said. "We work very closely with the schools, the DOE and especially with the shopping malls, so we have certain contingency plans already in place and it's always being refined.”

He also said that patrol division commanders have been notified to let patrol officers “know to be prepared in the event that there’s a copycat incident” and that the department’s Special Services Division had also been notified.

Kealoha said he believes Hawaii’s strict gun control laws have contributed to the state’s low rates of violent crime compared to other states.

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busterb wrote:

I pray it never happens again, esp here... But that headline looks like something a kook would take on as a challenge. No need to ban guns. Ban kooks.

on December 14,2012 | 12:36PM

livinginhawaii wrote:

Talking about being out of touch with reality - no one can ever be prepared for something like this. It is simply reckless to give the public a false sense of security. He should have said something like; "always be aware of your surroundings and if something doesn't look right don't hesitate to leave the area and call 911".

on December 14,2012 | 12:41PM

busterb wrote:

But kids in school are told not to leave the area and are usually held in lockdown.

on December 14,2012 | 12:44PM

kainalu wrote:

Just about to post the same thing. NOBODY can ever be prepared for something like this. Utterly depressing. Our condolences to the families of the victims.

on December 14,2012 | 01:29PM

PCWarrior wrote:

Agreed. If someone decided to take their assault weapons on a school site and start shooting, there is absolutely nothing the police can do about it, especially if the attacker is prepared to die. How many more of our children will have to die before we pass gun laws? Nothing will be done about this shooting. The real shocker is that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. In Hawaii, there is no place legal to shoot the sniper rifle except on military ranges, yet we still allow that gun to be purchased by anyone. Why?

on December 14,2012 | 04:11PM

anykineguy wrote:

I don't even know where to start with you, your argument is fallacious in so many ways. There are places to shoot "sniper" rifles as you call them so you are wrong. Most normal people refer to them as precision rifles, but I don't expect that from you. Are we going to pick and choose the amendments we want to keep now? What if this was done with a car speeding through a playground, would you be calling for a ban on automobiles? You seem to miss the fact that a person is responsible for this act, not the inanimate object. But never waste a good crisis right? Do you have a hard time thinking critically that you flail your arms about calling for a ban on the nearest item that you don't care for? What part of "shall not be infringed" do you have trouble understanding? More restrictive legislation in regards to firearm ownership will only serve to disarm the law abiding citizen. I bet in your fantasy world, you believe violent criminals will toss their hands up and admit defeat in the absence of firearms. If at least one person had been armed, a possibility exists that this psychopath could have been brought down before wounding so many. You seem to miss that fact. This is a terrible, terrible incident and you should feel ashamed for trying to capitalize and forward your own agenda based on others suffering.

on December 14,2012 | 07:47PM

joshislost wrote:

Agreed Agreed Agreed. Was the beers fault i got drunk buahaha

on December 14,2012 | 10:34PM

Kiahuna wrote:

Coming from an organization that takes four plus hours to wrap an accident investigation? Sorry but I find that hard to believe.

on December 14,2012 | 12:49PM

kainalu wrote:

These guys can't even stop illegal fireworks.

on December 14,2012 | 01:30PM

GeoDiva wrote:

LOL...totally true!

on December 14,2012 | 02:45PM

Br_tus wrote:

Be hard to be "prepared" for something like that. An armed KOOK bent on killing. A surprise attack. Geez.

on December 14,2012 | 01:22PM

HawaiiCheeseBall wrote:

I kagree with you. If some kook decides to walk into a school and start shooting, unless there is a police officer(s) in the area it will be difficult to stop. I would think that HPD is trained to stop the person when then do arrive and at least limit the carnage. However even so, with modern firearms even a quick response may to too late to prevent a mass killing. Condolences to the victims.

on December 14,2012 | 02:08PM

Kawipoo wrote:

The HPD is incompetent. If anything we need to protect ourselves from them. The police run around violating laws continually because they think they are above the law.

on December 14,2012 | 01:40PM

Sunny wrote:

Let's hope this never happens here since no one can be prepared for something like this.

on December 14,2012 | 01:42PM

busterb wrote:

C'mon let's hope this never happens anywhere again.

on December 14,2012 | 02:00PM

false wrote:

I hope so but we have a real challenge clearing a traffic accident.

on December 14,2012 | 02:35PM

lokela wrote:

I notice there are more and more of these shooting incidents. Looks like there are a lot of these unstable people easily obtaining guns. But in the end it's always 'they were nice guys' we can't believe they could do that.

on December 14,2012 | 03:00PM

st1d wrote:

"prepared" is not the same as "prevent"

still, it's good to know multidisciplinary planning and coordination for emergency response is in place for disasters, natural or otherwise.

on December 14,2012 | 03:37PM

Ronin006 wrote:

Kealoha would have been better off saying nothing. What good is it to prepare to respond after killings have occurred?

on December 14,2012 | 03:57PM

whs1966 wrote:

What shibai! Unlike many mainland school campuses, which have few entrances, allowing some control over who gets on campus, our schools are generally open, making it impossible to control access. In the time it would take for an HPD squad to reach most schools, especially those outside urban cores, a nut with a gun could wreak havoc on campus.

on December 14,2012 | 04:14PM

joshislost wrote:

Police are not prepared STUPID statement. No ones prepared that cant even stop school theft.

on December 14,2012 | 06:19PM

saywhatyouthink wrote:

What a dumb cop we have for chief. Is he saying he can prevent something like this from occurring here? Dream on

on December 14,2012 | 08:00PM

NanakuliBoss wrote:

Ur dumb syyt. In secret they have prepared. Why do you think the last multiple murder happened 15 years ago?

on December 14,2012 | 08:13PM

joshislost wrote:

stay in nanakuli buddy. Remember someone went on a rampage by killing people near stan sheriff just a few years ago

on December 14,2012 | 10:32PM

Kalaheo1 wrote:

And don't forget the three people murdered on up on Tantulus in 2006.

on December 15,2012 | 12:47AM

livinginhawaii wrote:

Clearly NanakuliBoss is either a paid rail blogger transplant from the mainland or ignorant of the past events that have happened on Oahu.

on December 15,2012 | 06:31AM

Bothrops wrote:

The chief is whistling past the graveyard. Do ALL HPD have active shooter training? Yes or no? If not, HPD is not trained. Whether anyone can be ready is another story?

on December 14,2012 | 08:37PM

NanakuliBoss wrote:

Yes,they have active shooter scenarios. All patrol units go through it.

on December 14,2012 | 09:47PM

steveoctober wrote:

Expect more vulnerabilities in the system when the Train will require a large law enforcement fleet to monitor it, lessening patrol and specialized units.

on December 14,2012 | 09:24PM