Dec. 4 (UPI) — A U.S. sailor opened fire at a military base in Hawaii Wednesday, killing two people and injuring a third before turning the weapon on himself, officials said.
Rear Admiral Robert Chadwich told reporters the shooting occurred at around 2:30 p.m. in the vicinity of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s Dry Dock 2 where the USS Columbia submarine was undergoing standard maintenance.
He said the gunman, who has been tentatively identified as an active-duty sailor assigned to the docked submarine, shot three people, two of whom died. The third, he said, was in stable condition at a local hospital.
The shooter was also killed from “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Chadwick said.
“Obviously, our thoughts are with the victims of the families and everyone involved,” Chadwick said. “I can say that we are mobilizing support services for naval shipyard personnel as well as everyone else who may be affected by this tragic event.”
The motive for the shooting was under investigation and it was unclear if the victims were targeted, he said.
“Base security and Navy investigative services are currently investigating,” the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said. “The names of the victims will not be released until the next of kin have been notified.”
Located on the southern shore of Oahu island, the military base was put on lockdown right after the shooting began and was reopened about an hour and a half later, the base said via Twitter.
The incident occurred days before the 78th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor on Saturday when dozens of World War II veterans are scheduled to attend a ceremony.
