Man arrested after armed standoff with police in Volcano

Police arrested 58-year-old Shawn Edward Page on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder and trespassing following a day-long armed standoff in Volcano.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, Puna patrol officers responded to an apartment in the 11-3000 block of Nahelenani Street after receiving a report that a man was illegally occupying the allegedly vacant apartment.

Upon arriving at the residence, police identified the man inside as Page — who has no permanent address, according to Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz — and learned he was wanted for questioning regarding a previous incident involving his dog.

Officers identified a dog in the residence that resembled the dog involved in the incident.

When officers attempted to remove the dog from the front door of the residence and speak to Page, he quickly pulled the dog into the residence and verbally threatened the officers while brandishing a firearm, police said.

Officers attempted to speak with Page, but he allegedly refused and locked himself in the apartment.

The officers on site then ordered a fence around the house.

The department’s Special Response Team, which is HPD’s SWAT unit, along with federal partners – including the Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT team and the US Marshal Service – were deployed early Wednesday morning to respond to a high-risk Execute a search warrant against a wanted fugitive. considered armed and dangerous near Malia Aina Road in the Fern Forest area of ​​Glenwood.

After the Fern Forest incident was resolved, the SRT team – along with the Crisis Negotiation Team and federal partner agencies – responded to assist given their close proximity to the volcanic incident.

The Fern Forest incident was unrelated to the volcano incident.

A police spokeswoman said authorities had not arrested the wanted fugitive, 40-year-old Malani Donald Tavui of Mountain View, who is wanted on two warrants and is considered “armed and dangerous.”

Members of the SRT attempted to communicate with Page, but he remained uncooperative and reportedly shot at officers on multiple occasions.

Police officers continued to attempt to get Page to leave the apartment peacefully, but he refused and police remained on scene throughout the night.

During the course of the standoff, Page fired a firearm several times inside the apartment and shot police personnel three times.

Shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday morning, as the SRT entered the residence, Page allegedly fired at officers, and a member of the SRT returned fire before the officers fled to safety.

The SRT is made up of officers from units across the island, and Moszkowicz said the officer who fired his weapon is a 14-year department veteran whose primary duty is the vice department.

“We believe the officer fired two shots, which fortunately did not hit Page,” Moszkowicz said.

According to the chief, that officer will be placed on paid administrative leave “as is standard practice following any critical incident.”

“The purpose of this administrative leave is not to accuse the officer or attempt to initiate a criminal case,” Moszkowicz said. “The purpose of administrative leave is to allow the officer an opportunity to recover from this critical incident he has just experienced and to ensure he is mentally, physically and emotionally prepared to return to work.”

“And as we review our critical incidents, we will also conduct an (Office of Professional Standards) review to ensure the actions of all officers on scene complied with policy.”

Page managed to break through the house and escape to the rear of the property. According to police, a member of the SRT suffered a large laceration from broken window glass while retreating.

Moszkowicz said the injured officer is an 18-year veteran whose primary duty is the South Kohala Patrol. The officer was taken to a local hospital where he received stitches and was released.

Police expanded the perimeter and conducted a search of the heavily wooded property.

Page was discovered hiding in vegetation several hundred yards from the residence at 10:16 a.m. Thursday.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and first-degree trespassing and was in possession of a loaded handgun, police said. There could be other possible charges.

Moszkowicz said Page, who suffered minor injuries in the incident, was treated by medics at the scene. He is being held in the Hilo police cellblock as investigators continue to investigate the possible allegations.

The dog was reportedly uninjured.

After Page’s arrest, investigators executed a search warrant for the apartment, which contained two additional handguns and a potential homemade explosive device that Moszkowicz described as a pipe bomb.

Police immediately evacuated the apartment and waited for bomb experts to respond to gain access to the device. The crime scene remained secured by the police.

Police ask anyone with information about this incident to contact Detective Amy Omaya at (808) 961-2381 or email [email protected].