Puna officer shot, suspect in custody

Hawaii Island police have identified the Pahoa man who was arrested in connection with the attempted murder of a police officer in Puna early Thursday.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, 65-year-old Albert Puu was taken into custody without incident after the department’s Special Response Team located him in a shed behind his Oio Street residence in the Hawaiian Beaches Subdivision. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

Puu was taken to the Hilo cellblock while investigators with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section continue the investigation, the Hawaii Police Department said in a media release.

At 10:22 p.m. on Wednesday, officers were called to a reported assault on Oio Street. As officers approached Puu’s residence, the suspect fired a single gunshot at police, striking an officer in the lower extremities.

None of the officers returned fire, police said.

The injured officer, a two-year member of the department, was taken to the Hilo Medical Center where he remains in stable condition.

North Puni Makai Loop between Ono and Ohiki streets remained closed as the department’s Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiators attempted to communicate with the suspect. Police reopened the roadway shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.

Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to contact the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or Detective William Brown of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at 961-2384 or William.Brown@hawaiicounty.gov.