Big Island police have initiated a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old Kailua-Kona man Saturday afternoon at a Kealakekua home.
At about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Hawaii Police Department officers responded to a report of a shooting at a residence on Mamalahoa Highway in Kealakekua. There, officers found the 61-year-old man dead. Detectives are withholding his identification pending confirmation of his identity and notification of the next of kin.
Donald Carpenter, 79, of Kealakekua was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder at the scene and taken to the Kealakehe Police Station.
On Sunday, after conferring with the Prosecutor’s Office, Carpenter was released pending investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident should call Detective Tyler Prokopec of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 326-4646, ext. 224, or email at tyler.prokopec@hawaiicounty.gov.