HONOLULU (KHON2) — Tuesday morning, Nov. 14 begins with a murder at the Hawaiʻi State Hospital. An incident that occurred has left one man dead and another man in police custody.
The incident happened at around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13.
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The Honolulu Police Department responded to a 911 call that involved a stabbing incident.
HPD personnel said that when they arrived on the scene, they found the stabbing victim, a
29-year-old staff member at the hospital facility had been stabbed multiple times.
The stabbing had been allegedly perpetrated by the 25-year-old suspect.
HPD personnel also said that the 29-year-old staff member was performing his regular hospital duties at the time he was allegedly stabbed.
“We’re told from different people there that they just heard some type of argument or maybe a disagreement,” explained Lt. Deena Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department. “EMS was activated. They responded and made the pronouncement of his death at 6:02 p.m. The suspect was arrested at for murder in the second degree. The suspect is a patient at the transitional housing here at the Hawaiʻi State Hospital.”
HPD said that there were no other injuries reported during this incident. They also indicated that there is no word on whether a weapon was recovered at the scene of the stabbing.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health Director, Dr. Kenneth Fink issued the following statement. In it, he said the following:
“We are extremely saddened to report that an incident on Hawaiʻi State Hospital grounds today took the life of a member of our Hawaiʻi State Hospital staff,” said Dr. Fink. “Our thoughts tonight are with his loved ones.”
Dr. Fink went on to explain further.
“It appears that an individual who was discharged from the Hawaiʻi State Hospital in August and was transitioning to the community through the state operated specialized residential program, caused the fatal injury.”
Governor Josh Green, M.D. also provided a statement regarding the stabbing in a post on social media.
“I am in communication with the DOH director who confirmed that a patient fatally stabbed an employee last night,” said Gov. Green. “Their focus right now is stabilizing the situation and supporting staff. We will learn more in the next few days. My prayers go out to the employee’s family.”
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HPD said that it is important to remember that the investigation continues to be ongoing. They also reported that they will be seeking charges against the alleged stabbing suspect via Hawaiʻi’s Attorney General.
