A deputy sheriff shot a 27-year-old homeless man in the leg near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport after the man attacked the deputy several times with an unknown object Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The deputy, 41, was conducting route checks and observed the suspect near an abandoned warehouse on Ualena Street just before 5 p.m.

While in the process of identifying the man, the suspect allegedly assaulted the deputy and struck him with an unknown object.

Police said the assailant struck the officer several more times with the object, at which time the deputy discharged his firearm striking the suspect in the leg.

The suspect was initially taken in critical condition to The Queen’s Medical Center. He was later upgraded to stable condition.

Police said the deputy was taken to a different hospital where he was treated and released for injuries he sustained in the assault.

Police arrested the 27-year-old man on suspicion of first-degree assault against a law enforcement officer. He remains hospitalized at Queen’s.

Court records show a bench warrant was issued in Maui in July for the suspect who was charged with allegedly assaulting a police officer in Haiku in November 2019.

According to a Maui News story, the suspect allegedly assaulted the officer who responded to a home in Luahine Place to investigate a report of abuse.

In a separate case, the alleged assailant pleaded no contest in 2012 to stabbing his mother in the back while she was calling 911, the Maui News said. He was sentenced to nearly one year in jail with credit for time served and 10 years’ probation.