A 32-year-old Pearl City man with a history of domestic violence was shot and killed by Honolulu police Friday after he grabbed an officer’s unattended rifle and pointed it at officers after breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and threatening to shoot her co-workers and responding officers.

Police declined to identify the man Friday. Multiple government and community sources identified him as Nathaniel Filimoni Taualai, who was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after the shooting, which followed the report of a burglary beginning shortly after 4 a.m. at the woman’s Pearl City residence and later a fire at the home.

The woman, who is not being named by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, was not at the residence, in the 1600 block of Kalauipo Street, when she saw Taualai on the feed from the home security system and called 911, police said.

When police arrived at about 4:10 a.m., she told officers that Taualai — who was 5-foot-11 and weighed 220 pounds — threatened to shoot her co-workers and police officers, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan said at a Friday news conference. She also told police she had a temporary restraining order against him.

Patrol officers arriving at the scene heard the suspect “yelling that he was not going to go to jail,” and crisis negotiators and HPD’s Specialized Services Division were sent to the scene. Multiple attempts to convince Taualai to come out and surrender were unsuccessful, Logan said.

“At about 6:30 a.m., smoke was observed coming from the bedroom window of the home. About 10 minutes later the suspect exited the home, officers outside the home observed the male armed with two knives, at which time he ran next door upstairs to the back balcony, where officers had been previously posted,” Logan said. “The suspect grabbed an unattended rifle and was holding it when the officers returned to the balcony.”

The rifle belonged to an SSD officer who had been perched on the balcony where his team was setting up. HPD officials confirmed after Logan’s news conference that the rifle Taualai pointed at police belonged to an officer. Why it was left unattended and how Taualai got a hold of it is part of an ongoing investigation, according to HPD.

SSD officers were setting up on the balcony where Taualai found the unattended rifle. When police returned to the balcony and saw Taualai point the rifle at them, one officer opened fire, followed by a second officer who fired from a neighbor’s yard, and a third officer who shot from the bottom of the stairs.

Logan said the three officers are on administrative leave, per department policy.

One SSD officer has three years of experience, the second SSD officer has 16 years on the job and the patrol officer has been with the department for 18 years.

A witness to the standoff who was at her grandmother’s house across the street, Samantha Kramer, shared video of the shooting with the Star-Advertiser. When the smoke starts rising from the home, police can be heard pleading with Taualai to surrender.

“Nathaniel … come on, braddah. … Let us help you, brah. Put whatever you have in your hands down, brah, come to the door with your hands up and let us help you,” an officer speaking through a megaphone said. “Come on … hands up … walk to the door so we can save your house and you.”

In the video, firefighters with the Honolulu Fire Department can be seen shooting water at the blaze while the officer asks Taualai to put down the unattended rifle he took from the neighbor’s balcony.

“Nathaniel, put the gun down, braddah,” the officers asks. Soon after, at about 6:43 a.m., at least seven shots from different caliber weapons can be heard.

Kramer told the Star- Advertiser in an interview that she was awakened by her brother, who told her police and firefighters were arriving in their neighborhood.

“We were scared, but the fact that I saw police … I felt safe,” she said. “But at the end of the day, what can we do?”

Taualai had 28 prior criminal convictions and citations including car theft and domestic violence.

On April 17, Taualai’s ex-girlfriend secured a TRO against him after dating for eight months, according to state court records. She alleged that he sent photos to her family and friends and started an Instagram page with the photos, adding her family and friends. He allegedly called her work 31 times, called her 8-year-old son a gay slur, threatened to have him taken away from her and disabled her home security system.

The woman did not immediately return a Star- Advertiser message seeking comment.

She was the third woman to obtain a protective order against Taualai since 2001.

On Oct. 19, 2021, Taualai was convicted of two counts of violating a protective order brought against him by another ex-girlfriend. That woman accused him of violent drunken tirades that damaged her home and scared her children.

In 2001 the mother of Taualai’s children got a TRO against him, also.

Friday’s events began as a burglary report and escalated to a house fire and fatal shooting.

Firefighters responded at 4:46 a.m. to assist with the barricade, according to a Honolulu Fire Department news release.

One unit staffed with four firefighters staged at Paaaina and Kalauipo streets at HPD’s direction. At 6:31 a.m. the incident changed to a building fire, and nine additional units, staffed with 34 firefighters, arrived to help, HFD said.

Heavy black smoke was pouring from the side of the two-story house as firefighters secured a water supply and initiated a defensive fire operation, HFD said. Once HPD gave an all-clear that Taualai was no longer a threat, firefighters switched from a defensive to an offensive approach to fight the fire . The fire was brought under control at 7:03 a.m. and extinguished at 7:16 a.m.