Police: Man killed by officers wanted for questioning in Hilo shooting
DARYL LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii County police investigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting at the drive-through window of the McDonald’s restaurant in the Puainako Center.
HAWAII COUNTY POLICE
Ronald Barawis Jr.
Hawaii County police said officers killed a fugitive trying to evade arrest, and critically wounded a woman early this morning in a shooting at the drive-through window of the McDonald’s restaurant in the Puainako Center in Hilo.
Police identified the man killed as 38-year-old Ronald Barawis of Kailua-Kona. The 28-year-old woman from Mountain View was airlifted to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu, where she is in critical but stable condition, police said.
Hilo police said the incident began at 12:20 a.m. when officers saw a Barawis, known to be armed and dangerous, driving a car at the McDonald’s at the shopping center off Kanoelehua Avenue.
Officers ordered him to step out of the vehicle. Instead, he drove over the drive-through’s barrier curb, accelerated, drove directly at an officer and then rammed into two police vehicles, police said.
Three officers fired at the vehicle, killing the driver, police said. A woman, sitting in the front passenger seat, was also shot.
Police said officers saw a shotgun, assault-type rifle, and two semi-automatic handguns withing Barawis’ reach in the vehicle. There also appeared to be a bulletproof-type vest on the backrest of the passenger seat, police said.
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Bararwis is featured in this week’s episode of “Hawaii Island’s Most Wanted,” a police-produced television show that airs on a community cable channel. The episode airs tonight.
Police said Barawis, who has a prominent tattoo on the right side of his face, was wanted for violating parole and failure to appear in court.
He was also wanted for questioning in a shooting in December in the upper Kaumana Drive area of Hilo. Police also believed Barawis drove a vehicle at an officer on Jan. 20 in Kailua-Kona.
In the shooting incident, police said a 29-year-old Keaau man reported that suspects in a late-model white sedan shot at a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck just after midnight on Dec. 29. Police tried to stop the sedan, but the driver sped away.
The officers who fired their weapons have 20, 15, and 6 years of experience, police said.
The officers were placed on paid administrative leave and police began an investigation of the shooting.
Police ask anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Detective Grant Todd at (808) 961-2385, or Detective Dean Uyetake at (808) 961-2379.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
24 responses to “Police: Man killed by officers wanted for questioning in Hilo shooting”
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Seems like one of the few “good” shootings committed by police. Maybe HI Island PD can start giving training seminars to HPD?
It seems justified. The Big Island is such a lawless, dangerous place.
Allie. you don’t live here, you should not talk smack, all cities have it’s fair share of crazies. This guy was a nut job, most people here on the Big I, are great people.
Righteous shootings. Wild wild west dat Big Island.
When I hear stories like this, I always think — crystal meth.
HaHa! One less punk on the street
good
3 Police officers unloading their guns at a public parking lot because a guy smashed there car and everyone is saying it is righteous? What if the passengers was there against her will? Collateral damage?
yep
Hang out with losers, and sometimes you lose too.
East Hawaii is a dangerous place to live. Where are all these criminals getting there guns from? How are they getting it? And Hilo won the happiest town in the USA. What gives?
if you read the article the guy is from Kona
It’s easy for the criminals to get guns. It’s just difficult for the rest of us. That being said, the criminal who got shot is in a better place. Better for him, and better for us.
Wow, cops shoot and kill a guy trying to flee from them? Unless this guy was a violent felon wanted for serious crimes that would justify a shoot first posture, the cop’s actions here seem extreme to me. Police are sending the message that if you try to run from them in a car, they can jump in front of that car and legally shoot to kill you. Their justification is always a “he drove right at me” self defense argument, when in reality the cop is purposely placing himself in or near the path of the car. In this fashion, I think cops have sometimes been able to get away with what is essentially murder, particularly when they kill otherwise unarmed people.
The car was the weapon. Don’t fool yourself.
Car is the weapon and did you not read the article
Did you miss this paragraph? “Police said officers saw a shotgun, assault-type rifle, and two semi-automatic handguns withing Barawis’ reach in the vehicle. There also appeared to be a bulletproof-type vest on the backrest of the passenger seat, police said.”
All that stuff was observed after the fact.
Social mores have changed our perception of law abiding citizens. Police have accepted what is politically correct. However if you threaten their lives, they guns and have the upper hand, bang, bang, you lose!
careful, this isn’t twitter.
hope they got the right guy.
The security cam video will tell the story in this one, so I’ll reserve comment on the righteousness of the shoot until I get to see the footage.
However, my heart aches for poor Ronald McDonald, who will surely end up with a severe case of PTSD from witnessing this incident. He’ll probably have to go on disability and we taxpayers will end up paying for his treatment.
Hats off to the police. They did a great job by ridding the community of a piece of human garbage.
The officer’s did a great job protecting our community from this perp. Good Job Hawaii Police Department.