Police have identified the man shot and killed by police Monday at an East Kawailani Street home as 25-year-old Kalyp Rapoza of Hilo.
Word of the shooting, and of Rapoza being the victim spread quickly via social media. As of Tuesday morning, a Facebook search showed Rapoza as a popular search with almost 35,000 hits.
Rapoza’s Facebook page said his occupation was “laborer at landscaping hard work, ” said he was from Volcano and went to Keaau High School.
Numerous mourners posted messages on his Facebook page.
Wrote one, “Someone please tell me that its not true!! Kalyp didn’t pass away, did he?”
“You were such a good friend to me and was always there for me, I wish I could’ve done more to help you. At least now you’ll be in a better place wit your brother…you will be missed RIL Kalyp Rapoza,” wrote another.
A third, who appears to be a relative, posted, “Just at a loss for words… I’ll never forget our memories and our talks. Love you my braddah. I’ll see you on the other side.”
Police said in a statement Monday night a man and a dog were shot and killed by an officer after a report of a disturbance at about 4:20 p.m.
“It initially started as a medical call. Fire Department is dispatched and then HPD is dispatched,” said Lt. Greg Esteban of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section.
An officer arriving at the scene encountered a knife-wielding man with a pit bull that earlier had earlier chased paramedics back into their ambulance, according to police.
Asked how many shots were fired and if police recovered a knife, Esteban said at about noon Tuesday that police are in the process of doing the paperwork necessary to obtain a search warrant for the property.
Byron Matthews, a Realtor-broker with nearby Hawaii Land Realty, said Tuesday he was in the bathroom changing clothes to go to the gym when he heard “pop, pop, pop.”
“I thought it was fireworks,” Matthews said. My cousin was calling the police and I said, ‘No, it’s just fireworks, kids playing.’ Then I went outside and the cops were swooping in real fast and it wasn’t fireworks.”
“The family, I’m assuming it was family, the people living in the house were all freaking out. It sounds like there might have been a structure in the back and the guy was back there. In the back yard, you could see the guy on the ground.”
“The ambulance was there before the shots were fired,” Matthews said. “I could see the ambulance. This was ambulance alley.”
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the exact cause of death.
In addition, a necropsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of the dog’s death .
The officer who discharged his firearm has been with the Hawaii Police Department for three years, was uninjured, and has been placed on administrative leave pursuant to department policy.
As is standard practice in any officer-involved shooting, the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting, and the Office of Professional Standards, the department’s internal affairs unit, is also conducting an administrative investigation.
The Tribune-Herald will update this story for Wednesday’s edition.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
