Two killed in
Maui shooting

Maui police recover a
handgun and a shotgun from the
scene of an apparent
murder-suicide

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Robert Johnson was reading the newspaper when he heard several loud bangs last night.

"I called 911," said Johnson, who lives upstairs from unit 30-106 at Iao Parkside, a townhouse community.

Maui Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said Thomas Kim, 51, apparently forced his way into the townhouse where his 48-year-old wife Diane was staying and shot her several times in a bedroom.

Then Kim shot himself, police said.

Immediately after shots were fired at 8:38 p.m., a man and a woman with three children fled from the unit, residents said.

Police evacuated two buildings at about 9 p.m., and a police special response team was called to the apartment.

Johnson and his wife Ciari were unable to leave the apartment because the stairs face the lower apartment's entry.

They spent nearly three hours in their bathtub to protect themselves from potential stray bullets.

"It's like three hours of not knowing what to do," said Johnson, who had moved into the townhouse two months ago.

Eventually, police broke down the front door and entered the apartment.

Johnson described the family living downstairs as "really nice" and said he didn't hear any argument before the gunfire.

"There was never any yelling. There was never any screaming," he said.

Deputy Police Chief Charles Hall said Diane Kim was related to the family who lived downstairs and was staying at the home.

Hall said Thomas Kim was not staying at the residence.

"It seems there was a male-female dispute and ultimately got resolved through a murder-suicide," Hall said.

Hall said a handgun and shotgun were recovered from the shootings.