U.S. Navy sailor kills two in shooting at Pearl Harbor base, takes own life

By Dan Whitcomb

 

(Reuters) - A U.S. Navy sailor shot and killed two people at the historic military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Wednesday, military officials said, before fatally shooting himself.

 

The shooter died from "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound", the officials said in a press briefing, adding that a third victim is in stable condition after being hospitalized.

 

"We have confirmed that two (victims) are deceased. One is in stable condition in a local hospital. I can also report that the shooter, who has tentatively been identified as an active-duty sailor assigned to USS Columbia SSN 771, is also deceased by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick said.

 

The names of the victims and the shooter were not shared.

 

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said earlier on Twitter that the three victims were all civilians working for the U.S. Department of Defense.

 

"I join in solidarity with the people of Hawaii as we express our heartbreak over this tragedy and concern for those affected by the shooting," Governor David Ige said on Twitter.

 

"Details are still emerging as security forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam investigate."

 

Ige said the White House had contacted him to offer assistance from federal agencies as needed.

 

"The president has been briefed on the shooting at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and continues to monitor the situation," a White House spokesman said.

 

The base, which was formed by the merger of Pearl Harbor Naval Station and Hickam Air Force Base, was placed on lockdown for about two hours following the incident at about 2:30 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time.

 

An unnamed witness told Hawaii News Now in an on-air interview that he had heard gunfire near Drydock 2 at the base and looked up from his desk to see the gunman put a gun to his head and shoot himself. The gunman was wearing a U.S. Navy uniform, the witness told the station.

 

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a combined U.S. Air Force and Navy Installation located 8 miles (13 km) from Honolulu.

 

The incident comes three days before the 78th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on the naval base that led the United States to enter World War Two by declaring war on Japan.

 

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Steve Gorman in Culver City and Jeff Mason in Washington, D.C.; editing by Richard Pullin and Stephen Coates)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-05

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if someone is going ballistic... why can't they just launch themselves overboard? 

Just like a Navy man.  Shooting in the wrong order. 

 

supposed to be the pick of the crop!

- but turned out substandard

Given the lack of any explanation in the OP for the incident, it's hard to know why he did it. but IMO either he was insane, or there was a reason he shot those people.

Kinda scary the dude was a submariner those guys get heavily vetted guess they missed this one rip and condolences to the lost and their family’s 

If only Americans were allowed to carry arms so that they could defend themselves against this sort of atrocity.

16 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

If only Americans were allowed to carry arms so that they could defend themselves against this sort of atrocity.

Do I understand it right, they could "defend themselves" when they have been shot?

Only if you believe in the bible ???? .

I am waiting for the full news to be release, navy sailors are stressful because always undermanned.

15 minutes ago, puck2 said:

Do I understand it right, they could "defend themselves" when they have been shot?

Only if you believe in the bible ???? .

I'm guessing that they were shot one after the other.  It seems to me that Americans are pusilanimous, defenceless wimps who put up with this sort of atrocity on a regular basis instead of taking up arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them.  All Americans should be forced to carry guns to prevent outrageous events such as this.   Preferably automatic weapons.  And grenades.

10 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

I'm guessing that they were shot one after the other.  It seems to me that Americans are pusilanimous, defenceless wimps who put up with this sort of atrocity on a regular basis instead of taking up arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them.  All Americans should be forced to carry guns to prevent outrageous events such as this.   Preferably automatic weapons.  And grenades.

You had me all the way until "Preferably automatic weapons. And grenades." I'm for the right to have guns but I'd say those are excessive. However, when talking about constitutional rights, I suppose yeah Americans should be allowed to have them.

 

One reason they 'put up with this sort of atrocity' is because the media has really misguided peoples' views at the present time. So much actually. You have Americans on a mass scale misguided and trapped by this bipartisan paradigm, lacking compassion for others and filled with hate. This 'hate' has been fueled and ignited by the voices and legislative actions of certain political leaders. 

 

 

18 minutes ago, Solinvictus said:

You had me all the way until "Preferably automatic weapons. And grenades." I'm for the right to have guns but I'd say those are excessive. However, when talking about constitutional rights, I suppose yeah Americans should be allowed to have them.

 

One reason they 'put up with this sort of atrocity' is because the media has really misguided peoples' views at the present time. So much actually. You have Americans on a mass scale misguided and trapped by this bipartisan paradigm, lacking compassion for others and filled with hate. This 'hate' has been fueled and ignited by the voices and legislative actions of certain political leaders. 

 

 

It's not a question of right.  THey should be required to carry tommy guns, bazookas and grenades.  It's the only way that safety and democracy can be maintained, right?

At least he didn't go to the local school at mass murder a load of kids.

 

 

'Merca! 

2 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

If only Americans were allowed to carry arms so that they could defend themselves against this sort of atrocity.

 

Nonsense. The answer is banning guns of any kind at all military bases nationwide.