A shooter, who was identified as a US sailor, shot dead two people as a result of an incident, which occurred at 14.30 local time, at the Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii, on Wednesday.
The Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said in a statement that “the shooter & two shipyard civilian employees are deceased, & one shipyard civilian is in stable condition at a local hospital.”
- According to preliminary information, the shooter served on a submarine, the USS Columbia. At the time of the incident, it was in dry dock number two, where the tragedy occurred.
- US Navy Commander Lydia Robertson said that the sailor committed suicide after shooting near Drydock 2, a nuclear submarine service area.
- According to Robertson, the investigation is being conducted by both the base security service, the investigative authorities of the Navy and the FBI.
- The shooting occurred three days before the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Officials did not disclose the identity of the sailor.
- Authorities said at least 100 witnesses were interrogated about the shooting. However, it remains unknown why the shooter decided to open fire.
- The military base is located near the city of Honolulu, Hawaii. Due to the incident, access to its territory was closed. It was later re-opened.
The base is home to US Air Force and Navy units, and the number of military and civilians located there as of 2015 totalled more than 66 thousand people. Pearl Harbor also serves as the headquarters for the US Pacific Fleet and is the base for 10 destroyers and 15 submarines. The shipyard repairs, maintains and upgrades the ships and submarines of the US Pacific Fleet.