Update: 2:30am
Elise Trapp spoke on her cell phone outside of a police barricade along Mamalahoa Hwy, Thursday, near Honaunau on the Big Island.
Trapp witnessed a male and a female being arrested at the intersection of Mamalahoa Hwy and Middle Keei Rd. while driving at about 10:30 pm. Earlier in the evening, residents reported shots being fired at police from a fleeing Tacoma truck in the forested community.
Trapp described the arrest scene and said, “She walks out, and she’s handcuffed, and they put her down on the ground, and the girl is on the mauka side of the road and the dude is on the makai side of the road and he’s like covered in blood. Head to toe, like head to toe, handcuffed like this, (gestures), and the girl is on the other side of the road handcuffed. And then the ambulance pulls up in the middle of them and there’s cops everywhere.”
Trapp saw the woman being led to the ambulance and then was told by police to exit the scene and head south where she became stranded with other motorists until the barricade was lifted at around 12:30 am.
>> Related story: Woman describes dramatic arrest of duo as search continues for officer’s killer
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Gunfire sent Honaunau residents fleeing for cover Thursday as Hawaii County police pursued alleged cop killer Justin Joshua Puamoiwalei Waiki in a high-speed chase through South Kona.
Waiki, 33, is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of officer Bronson K. Kaliloa during a traffic stop in Mountain View on Tuesday.
Witnesses saw multiple police vehicles in pursuit of a gray Toyota Tacoma reportedly operated by Waiki early Thursday evening.
Honaunau resident Kawai DeBina said her son’s father called to alert her family that the pursuit was heading in the direction of her residence on Napoopoo Road.
Around 6 p.m. DeBina saw two police vehicles stop abruptly in front of her house followed soon after by the Tacoma speeding downhill in the opposite direction.
DeBina said she heard at least six rounds of gunfire as the police rejoined the pursuit. She said she was not sure who fired the shots.
“We just ducked,” DeBina said of herself and her family. “We’re just 100 feet from the road, and we didn’t want to get hit. It was so scary.”
DeBina said she thinks Waiki pulled off on a side road and waited for police to pass before attempting to escape the same way he came.
The Tacoma was later found abandoned on Middle Keei Road. Police subsequently closed down the road and surrounding areas to look for Waiki, who was thought to have fled on foot.
Around 7 p.m. police issued an alert for residents in the area of Honaunau Elementary School to remain inside and lock their doors. As of 8:30 p.m. police were maintaining a 1-mile search perimeter around the school.
The pursuit came as law enforcement intensified its efforts to locate Waiki. The manhunt was continuing at the Honolulu Star- Advertiser’s deadline.
More than 20 Hawaii island officers and federal agents in a special task force were on a round-the-clock manhunt for the suspect.
The Hawaii Police Department and state and federal agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, had collected several tips from the public about possible sightings of Waiki.
The U.S. Marshals Service in Hawaii, the ATF and the FBI have each offered rewards of $10,000 — $30,000 total — for information leading to 33-year-old Waiki’s capture.
The Hawaii Police Department said the task force would be “operating 24 hours a day relentlessly following up on tips and information regarding the whereabouts of fugitive Justin Waiki who is to be considered armed and dangerous.”
“We’re receiving tips constantly throughout the day and night,” said Miles Chong, a lieutenant in the Hawaii Police Department’s criminal investigation section. “We kind of peruse over various social media sites to see what kind of social media is out there.”
Big Island residents had been posting a number of possible sightings on social media, while others in the community have been taking precautions.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island kept about 40 children in a restricted area indoors Thursday “for our own peace of mind,” following rumors that the suspect was in the Hilo area, according to employees. Parents were also informed of the situation, and some took their children home early.
Honolulu criminologist Meda Chesney-Lind said it was only a matter of time before Waiki was found in the tightknit community.
“Eventually you can’t disappear. The end is pretty certain that he’ll be found,” she said. “You can disappear within the context of an island, but any attempt to get out of here by plane is going to be difficult if not impossible. You can bet people are talking to known associates and trying to figure out where the fugitive might be. It’s probably more effective now with all the social media. We are getting to a place where everybody is a lot more visible.”
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard honored the service and sacrifice of Kaliloa on the House floor Thursday.
“He was part of the Puna Patrol Division, who over the last few months have been working around the clock to support their community in crisis due to ongoing volcanic activity and lava flow, helping residents who have been displaced from their homes, businesses and farms,” she said. “We can never forget the sacrifices our law enforcement officers and their families make every day to serve and protect.”
Autopsy results released Thursday shows Kaliloa died due to a macerated artery from a gunshot wound.
Gov. David Ige has ordered the U.S. and Hawaii flags be flown at half-staff at the state Capitol, all state offices and agencies, and the Hawaii National Guard until sunset today.
A GoFundMe page set up for Kaliloa’s family had raised over $23,000, after an initial $1,000 goal, as of Thursday night.
