Pearl Harbor shipyard shooting victim in stable condition, requests privacy

The 36-year-old Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard worker who survived a shooting at the base continued his convalescence Saturday, issuing a statement urging the public to respect his family’s privacy.

The Queen’s Medical Center, which distributed the statement, said shipyard apprentice Roger Nakamine remained in stable condition. The statement did not detail what injuries Nakamine sustained.

Nakamine had not previously been identified as the shooting’s sole survivor.

“My family and I would like to express our gratitude to the first responders and the expert medical staff at Queen’s, as well as to all the friends and extended ʻohana who have been reaching out to offer their support physically, emotionally and spiritually,” Nakamine said. “Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and families of Vincent Kapoi Jr. and Roldan Agustin. We ask that the media please respect our privacy as we all continue to grieve and heal.”

Nakamine and his family are not doing any media interviews for the time being, the statement said.

Military officials identified Seaman Gabriel Antonio Romero of Texas as the 22-year-old sailor who used two service weapons to fatally shoot Kapoi and Agustin, two civilian shipyard workers, and injure Nakamine before killing himself around mid-afternoon Wednesday. His motive remains unclear.

Romero had been undergoing counseling because he was unhappy with his commanders, a military official told the Associated Press on Friday. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the sailor faced nonjudicial punishment, an administrative process for minor misconduct that does not merit a court-martial.

He was assigned to the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Columbia, based at Pearl Harbor. The sub is in the shipyard for maintenance.