The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Daniel Buckingham. He has reportedly lived on Hawai’i Island for approximately 1½ years; however, he has no known permanent address. He is originally from Ann Arbor Michigan.
On Friday morning, at about 11:40 a.m., South Hilo Patrol officers responded to a residential alarm at the 1800 block of Kilauea Avenue in Hilo. Officers arrived at the residence at about 11:42 a.m. Officers located a broken rear window to the residence. Upon speaking with neighbors, officers learned that the residence was not currently being lived in full-time and no one should be there. Officers made entry into the home to investigate and announced their presence several times. As officers were clearing the residence they encountered a locked bedroom door. Officers then exited the residence and made additional checks around the perimeter of the property. Officers then breached the bedroom door at approximately 12:02 p.m. Immediately upon entering the locked bedroom; officers were confronted by a male suspect armed with a pocket knife and a much larger knife. The suspect swung the large knife and struck an officer in the forearm. Two of the responding officers discharged their duty weapons, killing the armed suspect.
The injured officer was transported to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition. He was treated for a large laceration to his arm and later released.
The injured officer was equipped with a body-worn camera; however, it was not activated at the time of the incident. Two additional officers at the scene were also equipped with body-worn cameras; those cameras were activated and captured the incident. Footage capturing the discharge of firearms has been released to the media.
On Tuesday morning, June 22, 2021, an autopsy was performed on Buckingham, and the pathologist determined that he died of multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body with several shots being fatal. The final autopsy report is pending toxicology results.
Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section are continuing this attempted first-degree murder investigation. The Office of Professional Standards is continuing the internal investigation into this matter.
Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call Detective Jeremy Kubojiri of the Area I Criminal Investigations Section at (808) 961-2378 or via email at Jeremy.Kubojiri@hawaiicounty.gov.