US Navy sailor shoots 3, takes own life at Pearl Harbor; IAF chief present at base

A US Navy sailor shot and wounded three people at the historic military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Wednesday, December 4, before fatally shooting himself, said military officials. The shooting took place at around 2.30 pm (Hawaii Standard Time), prompting the authorities to put the facility under a lockdown.

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said on Twitter that the three injured victims were all civilians working for the US Department of Defence, but gave no information on their condition.

NBC affiliate Hawaii News Now reported that two of the wounded were in critical condition at local hospitals.

"Base security and Navy investigative services are currently investigating. The names of the victims will not be released until the next of kin have been notified," Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said in a Tweet.

An unnamed witness told Hawaii News Now in an on-air interview that he had heard gunfire near Drydock 2 at the base and looked up from his desk to see the gunman put a gun to his head and shoot himself. The gunman was wearing a U.S. Navy uniform, the witness told the station.

IAF chief present at the dock

The Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria was attending the Pacific Air Force Chiefs Conference (PACS-2019) at the Pearl Harbour when the incident took place.

"All Indian Air Force delegation members including the chief are safe and unaffected by the incident. The Pacific Air Force Chiefs Conference (PACS-2019) also continued as the incident took place on the other side of the Pearl Harbour base," an official told ANI.  

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a combined US Air Force and Navy Installation located 8 miles (13 km) from Honolulu.

The incident comes three days before the 78th anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on the naval base that led the United States to enter World War Two by declaring war on Japan.

(With agency inputs.)