Suspect took his own life after attack at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, near Honolulu, officials said
Guardian staff and agencies
Security stands outside the main gate at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Wednesday. Photograph: Caleb Jones/AP
A US sailor opened fire at the historic military base in Pearl Harbor on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said, killing two civilian workers and injuring a third before taking his own life.
Officials at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham near Honolulu, Hawaii, said on Wednesday evening that investigators were working to determine the circumstances of the deadly incident at the Pearl Harbor naval shipyard.
The names of the victims will not be released until the next of kin have been notified, base authorities said.
Security forces and Honolulu firefighters responded to reports of a shooting at the shipyard around 2.30pm local time. The incident took place at the vicinity of the shipyard’s Dry Dock 2.
The base was placed on lockdown for part of the afternoon. Photos showed long lines of cars headed for the gates of the base.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is home to both the US navy and US air force.
The shipyard repairs, maintains and modernizes the ships and submarines of the US Pacific fleet, which is headquartered at Pearl Harbor. It is the home port for 10 destroyers and 15 submarines.
The shipyard is across the harbor from the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which on Saturday will mark the 78th anniversary of the attack by Japan that propelled the US into the second world war.