HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Paul A. Smith was captured at Molokai Island’s airport on the evening of Thursday, September 28, after being on the run for allegedly assaulting a U.S. Army Soldier and triggering a lockdown of Schofield Barracks in Central Oahu for nearly three hours.
The incident began at around 2:30pm when the military ordered a complete lockdown of Schofield Barracks and the adjacent Wheeler Army Airfield, thus preventing anyone from entering or exiting both camps. At the same time, base occupants were ordered to shelter in place and to secure their homes or places of work.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) soon joined military law enforcement in thoroughly searching buildings and facilities for Smith, who was believed to be armed.
Restrictions were later pinpointed to just Schofield Barracks, particularly the base exchange shopping center and a nearby elementary school where military and civilian police cornered the suspect but were unable to capture him.
Witnesses reported to have seen Smith driving off in a white Toyota Prius before catching a small-airplane flight to Molokai from Dillingham Airfield at Oahu’s North Shore.
The lockdown was rescinded at about 5:15pm after the Army determined that Schofield Barracks was no longer under threat.
According to base sources, Smith was attempting to sell some paramilitary training hardware to Soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. A first sergeant approached him and asked for his identification. Smith then struck the senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) several times with an unidentified object and ran away. This account has yet to be confirmed by military command or HPD.
Schofield Barracks is the U.S. Army’s most populous base in Hawaii with an estimated population of nearly 15,000 military and civilian personnel, along with their family members.
(Alfred Acenas, Hawaii-Pacific Bureau, Eagle News Service)