Police seek ‘armed and dangerous’ Kona man in connection with shooting

Police are seeking a 41-year-old Kona man they say fled officers who sought him in connection with a Wednesday night shooting incident that left a woman hospitalized.

According to police, they made contact with Walter Gomes III about 2:05 a.m. today near Maiau Street in Kona, but he drove toward officers, striking a police vehicle. Three officers reportedly discharged their firearms. The driver, however, was able to flee.

Police say Gomes was wanted for allegedly shooting a woman. Officers responded to Kona Community Hospital on a 7:07 p.m. Wednesday report of a woman with a single, non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

The woman had been taken to the hospital by private vehicle.

Gomes was last seen driving a white 2003 Cadillac Escalade, license plate ZFC915. Police caution the public from approaching him, as he is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who spots him, or who has information regarding Gomes or the incidents, is asked to call the police nonemergency number at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 to report his location.

As is standard practice in any police-involved shooting, the Kona Criminal Investigations Section is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting and the Office of Professional Standards, the department’s internal affairs unit, is conducting an administrative investigation.