Suspected shooter of Big Island officer dead

UPDATE: Sunday, 6:15 p.m.

The manhunt for Christopher Lucrisia, 39, has ended after Hawaii island police reported that the suspect is dead following an officer-involved shooting.

Police have scheduled a media briefing at 7:30 tonight.

Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

A fugitive accused of shooting a Hawaii island police officer midday Friday is still on the run as of 2:30 p.m. today, and the total rewards remain at $21,0000 for information leading to the man’s arrest.

Police also announced at 1:10 p.m. today that the police officer who suspect Christopher Lucrisia, 39, allegedly shot in the head and arm in Hilo on Friday remains in stable condition on Oahu and is expected to make a full recovery. The officer’s identification has not been made public out of respect for his privacy, according to police.

UPDATE: Saturday, 9 p.m.

A fugitive accused of shooting a Hawaii island police officer midday Friday remained on the run as of 8:15 p.m. Saturday despite an influx of federal and state law enforcement assistance and increased reward incentives.

Police also announced Saturday that based on evidence from the scene of Friday’s shooting in Hilo, suspect Christopher Lucrisia, 39, of Puna, may be injured.

Two federal agencies on Saturday each offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Lucrisia, a convicted felon who is accused of shooting a police officer in the head and forearm Friday during an attempted arrest in Hilo related to incidents on Monday and Wednesday in Mountain View.

The reward offers from the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were added to an earlier reward ofup to $1,000 from Hawai‘i Island Crime Stoppers.

UPDATE: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

A fugitive accused of shooting a Hawaii island police officer midday Friday remains on the run this evening as authorities upped reward payments to $21,000 for information leading to the man’s arrest.

The latest rewards offer of $10,000 each from the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were added to an earlier reward up to $1,000 from Hawai‘i Island Crime Stoppers as part of the effort to capture Christopher Lucrisia.

Hawaii Police Department officials announced Saturday that the islandwide manhunt was enhanced with federal and state partners, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Marshalls Service, state sheriffs and state Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officers.

Lucrisia is still considered armed and dangerous, so the public is advised to not approach the suspect.

Tips to the Marshalls Service can be phoned in to (808) 935-3311. Hawai‘i Island Crime Stoppers operates an anonymous tip line at (808) 961-8300 and does not record calls or use caller ID.

UPDATE: Saturday, 11:25 a.m.

Hawaii County officials said today that rewards of up to $11,000 are being offered for information that leads to the capture and arrest of 39-year-old Christopher Lucrisia of Puna, who allegedly shot and wounded a police officer Friday morning in Hilo and is wanted on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder.

The U.S. Marshalls Service is offering reward up to $10,000. Call (808) 935-3311 to report tips. Anonymous tips can be made to Hawaii Island Crime Stoppers (808) 961-8300 for a reward of up to $1,000.

Federal and state partners, including FBI, Homeland Securities Investigations, Marshalls Service, Hawaii state sheriffs, and the Department of Land & Natural Resources have joined Hawaii island police in the search for Lucrisia.

Lucrisia is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, police said.

UPDATE: Saturday

A convicted felon on Hawaii island allegedly shot a police officer in the head and arm Friday morning after an attempted arrest in Hilo, triggering an islandwide manhunt while the officer, in serious but stable condition, was airlifted to Oahu for surgery.

Hawaii Police Department officials announced shortly before noon that the suspect is Christopher Lucrisia, 39, who allegedly fired a gun into the ground in front of his 39-year-old ex-girlfriend outside her home in Mountain View early Monday morning.

Lucrisia also is accused of returning to the woman’s home Wednesday while she was out, and threatening a bedridden 75-year-old woman with a firearm, stealing a bag from her bed and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.

Lucrisia was still at large as of Friday evening. But 23-year-old Silas Zion of Pahoa, who police said was with Lucrisia during the shooting incident that involved at least two officers, was arrested without incident shortly after 6 p.m. in Puna. He faces a potential charge of being an accessory to attempted first-degree murder for the shooting that hospitalized an officer.

According to Hawaii Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz, officers searching to arrest Lucrisia on Friday morning on reckless-endangering and firearm charges relating to the earlier incidents in Mountain View spotted Lucrisia in a white Chevy pickup truck registered to Zion outside a bank near the Prince Kuhio Plaza shopping center in Hilo shortly before 11 a.m.

But as the officers wearing equipment identifying them as police approached the truck and demanded that the vehicle’s occupants not move, Lucrisia fired a gun at least twice, striking one officer, Moszkowicz said.

A second officer fired back three times, but it was not known at the time whether those shots struck Lucrisia or the truck’s driver, according to Moszkowicz.

At a Friday evening news conference, Moszkowicz said he wishes for a full recovery for the injured officer, a nine-year veteran assigned to the East Hawaii Vice Unit, and urged the suspects to surrender peacefully.

“We don’t need any more violence in this case,” he said. “Nobody else needs to be hurt. We just want to make sure justice is done, and we’ll let the criminal justice system play out.”

Moszkowicz also said that two neighbor island police departments and the state Department of Law Enforcement have offered to help in the search if it continues today.

Hawaii island Mayor Kimo Alameda said during the news conference that the two suspects would be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.

“It’s a sad day for us here on the Big Island,” Alameda said. “But I want you to know that our Police Department is doing a really, really good job, and I commend them for their service.”

In the immediate aftermath of Friday’s shooting, police officials believed Lucrisia was on foot in a Hilo neighborhood in the vicinity of Manono and Leilani streets, and advised the public to avoid the area and contact police if they saw Lucrisia, who is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and 250 pounds, with green eyes and black hair.

By 3 p.m. the department announced that police had completed their search of homes in the neighborhood and that their search had been expanded islandwide.

Around 4 p.m., police identified Zion as the driver of the getaway pickup truck and described him as 5 feet 6 inches tall, 110 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Both men should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, Moszkowicz said, and should be reported to police and not approached if seen by the public.

The injured officer was initially taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, then airlifted to Oahu and transported to The Queen’s Medical Center for surgery.

The detective who fired his firearm is a 17-year department veteran assigned to the East Hawaii Vice Unit, and has been placed on administrative leave to ensure he is mentally, emotionally and physically able to return to work, according to Moszkowicz.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE

A Hawaii island police are conducting an islandwide search for two men after an officer was shot today at a bank near the Prince Kuhio Plaza shopping center in Hilo, and then later airlifted to Oahu and transported to The Queen’s Medical Center where the officer was in serious but stable condition from a head injury.

Hawaii Police Department officials said shortly before noon that the suspect is a 39-year-old man named Christopher Lucrisia who fled the scene as a passenger in a white Chevy pickup truck after allegedly shooting the officer twice.

Police officers later believed Lucrisia was on foot in a Hilo neighborhood in the vicinity of Manono and Leilani Streets, and advised the public to avoid the area and contact police if they see Lucrisia, who is described as 5 feet 10 inches and 250 pounds, with green eyes and black hair.

By 3 p.m., the department announced that police had completed their search of homes in the Hilo neighborhood, and that their search had been expanded islandwide.

Around 4 p.m., police said they were also looking for 23-year-old Silas Zion of Pahoa, who is wanted for attempted murder as part of today’s shooting.

According to police, Zion is the driver of the getaway pickup truck in which Lucrisia was a passenger.

Zion, who was described as 5 feet 6, 110 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes, was arrested without incident shortly after 6 p.m. in Puna. He faces a potential charge of being an accessory to attempted first-degree murder for the shooting that hospitalized an officer.

Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz said the wounded officer, who is assigned to the East Hawaii Vice Section, was in serious condition, according to the Hawaii Tribune Herald. He was taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center before being airlifted to Oahu.

“He has a head injury,” Moszkowicz said shortly after noon. “He’s awake, he’s alert.”

According to Moszkowicz, police received information that Lucrisia, who was wanted, was near the bank. Without any prior conversation, Lucrisia shot at least twice and hit the officer, Moszkowicz said.

The chief said another officer returned fire, but it’s not known whether or not the suspect was hit.

This morning’s shooting was at the First Hawaiian Bank near Prince Kuhio Plaza.

Moszkowicz said the house-by-house search of homes in the Waiakea Houselots area for Lucrisia “did not pan out.”

“We were not able to locate the suspect there,” he said. “He’s still at large, whereabouts unknown, so the search has been expanded, islandwide.”

The public is reminded not to approach Lucrisia, who is considered armed and dangerous, or Zion.

Hawaii Tribune-Herald contributed to this report.