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Footage has emerged of a 10-hour, armed standoff at a luxury hotel in Hawaii that went into lockdown after a naval lieutenant reportedly fired shots before being found dead in his hotel room.
The incident at the $500 a night Kahala Resort & Hotel in Honolulu started around 6pm on Saturday when a man fired through a door at staff.
The footage and photos posted online show around 100 guests being rushed to safety as SWAT teams moved in and messages were issued over the loudspeaker for guests to remain in rooms.
Dinner guest Elizabeth Ferraro posted a series of videos on Twitter showing adults and children huddled together, armed police units in the lobby with dogs and referencing the recent mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia.
“I’m in the lobby of @KahalaResort in Honolulu for the past 30min and there’s been reports of a mentally ill person w a gun”, she wrote. “We are thankfully fine but feeing such sadness that we’re experiencing this fear only a month after Colorado and Georgia.”
Ms Ferraro said that she had been having dinner with her partner and his sister and had been getting into their car when they heard shouting from towards the beach.
“Bc of that we asked for our valet to get the car. waited for 10min, then got into our car”, she said. “That’s when a police officer opened our door and rushed us into the lobby. Literally 10 seconds from leaving…”, she tweeted. “Stairways and elevators are locked.”
Other videos posted later by Ms Ferraro showed masked guests in the ballroom holding wine glasses, as well as images of food given to those waiting.
The mood inside the ballroom was reportedly tense, following a series of mass shootings in the US in recent weeks.
Guest Maggie Marcelli told Hawaii News Now: “I am completely freaking out. There’s been so much horrible stuff that’s been going on and I’m first of all just scared for whoever this person is. Obviously there’s something wrong, but also just scared for everyone involved that’s having to go through this.”
Another Twitter user called Jani tweeted: “Pls pray for my mom and the employees of the Kahala hotel. There is a gunman on the lose in the hotel & both her and her husband are on lockdown in their separate departments. I’m praying that no one gets hurt.”
The stand-off was brought to an end early on Sunday morning when the suspect was allegedly found dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gun shot.
He has not yet been named but was reportedly a lieutenant commander in the US Navy stationed on Oahu, according to Hawaii News Now.
Police captain Brian Lynch told local media around 9pm on Saturday: “Nobody is injured. Everybody is accounted for.”
He added that they believed the incident occurred after security staff were called to the man’s room around 6pm to reports that he had barricaded himself inside for unknown reasons and he fired a shot through the door.
“Thankfully, the security guard wasn’t standing in front of the door,” Lynch said.
In a statement released earlier the hotel said: “This evening, an individual with a firearm barricaded himself in one of the guest rooms at The Kahala. Our security personnel and law enforcement have evacuated guests and employees from the immediate area and everyone is sheltering in place.”
Following the end of the incident, Ms Ferraro posted: “Massive thanks to the@KahalaResort staff for their kindness in this time. They fed us and gave every party many many towels and comforters to sleep on.”
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