Discovery of pipe bombs rousts Kalihi neighbors

Hundreds of Kalihi residents were forced from their homes for hours with little time to prepare Sunday after a family found a cache of old grenades and pipe bombs in a deceased family member’s closet.

Police said officers were sent to a report of someone wanting to turn in his brother’s firearm and ammunition at 12:06 p.m. When officers arrived at 1555 Pohaku St., they were shown the grenades and pipe bombs and began clearing the six-story condo.

Police evacuated a building across the street as well, and told residents in surrounding structures along the long cul-de-sac to stay inside. Pohaku Street on the makai side of School Street was closed before 1 p.m., and public access to dozens of structures on the street as well as Pohaku Place was restricted. At about 4 p.m. a police lieutenant said the closure was expected to last until about 10 p.m.

A police bomb squad was already there, and the lieutenant deferred questions about the closure’s duration to the bomb squad.

A man who gave only his first name, Sean, said he was helping his parents clean out his late 80-year-old uncle’s studio on the fourth floor of the building when they found a gun and ammunition.

After calling police, Sean said, his family found three grenades and what appeared to be a pipe bomb in the closet. He said his uncle, who died recently, had been in the military and donated his condo to the Salvation Army, where he went to school with Sean’s father.

“He wanted to give back to them,” Sean said. “He was always a nice guy.”

Resident Jason Souza said he overheard the deceased man’s brother tell police they found 16 pipe bombs. A police lieutenant said “items” were found.

More than 200 people live in the building, which has 126 units, according to residents.

One man who lives across the street, Nelson Antalan, said he was roused from a nap by someone banging on his door and briefly thought he did something wrong when he found an officer at his door, telling him to evacuate the building.

“It was kind of scary,” he said. “It’s supposed to be my day off. I have to rest, (but) no can help. We have to evacuate for our safety.”

Police requested city buses to transport displaced residents to the gym at Lanakila District Park, where the Red Cross set up a temporary shelter with water and cots for seniors. A Red Cross representative said 27 residents showed up and that meals may be provided if the shelter stayed opened late. He said the shelter was not expected to stay open overnight.

Maureen Otsuka and her husband, who both use walkers, went to the shelter after waiting outside in the afternoon heat for hours.

She said the experience was “a little unsettling, but what a way to meet the neighbors.”

Back at Pohaku Street, one young mother learned about the evacuation hours after the building was cleared.

Jocelyn Amoguis wept in distress as she fled down the street with her 2-year-old son, Clintliam, in her arms.

She said someone had banged on her door earlier in the day, but, distracted by her cooking and her child, she forgot to ask what the visitor wanted.

At about 3 p.m. her husband called from his workplace to ask about the evacuation, and Amoguis rushed outside with her son in tow, grabbing only a small bottle of water for the boy.

“If my husband didn’t call me, I (wouldn’t have known) what happened,” she said.