Man shoots self in head at hotel
Arthur Pascual of Ewa survives the shooting; the incident forces the closure of the H-1
An Ewa man who fired two shots from his barricaded hotel room near the airport Saturday night shot himself early yesterday but survived, according to police.
During a news conference yesterday, Honolulu Police Department spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii described Arthur D. Pascual as distraught. Fujii would not provide further details, saying only, "It's a personal matter."
Pascual, 51, was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, Fujii said.
At 5:40 p.m. Saturday, police received an anonymous tip that Pascual was seen at the Best Western Plaza Hotel at 3253 N. Nimitz Highway near Honolulu Airport.
Pascual was armed with a .38-caliber handgun and threatened to commit suicide, Fujii said.
Crisis negotiators and members of the Specialized Services Division responded after Pascual barricaded himself in his 11th-floor hotel room which faced the H-1 freeway.
Fujii said Pascual fired two shots, one toward the airport industrial area and the other toward the H-1 viaduct, forcing law enforcement officials to close the freeway sometime after 8:20 p.m.
The road closure was announced to fans leaving Aloha Stadium after the University of Hawaii-Boise State University football game.
About 4:30 a.m. yesterday, SSD personnel entered Pascual's hotel room and made several verbal commands for him to surrender. He refused and shot himself in the head, Fujii said.
Pascual's wife had reported him missing, but there was conflicting information from police about whether the report was made Friday or Wednesday when Pascual's house burned down.
The fire at 91-1361 Hoopio St. in Ewa Villages was determined by the Honolulu Fire Department to have been intentionally set. No one was home when the fire started about 4:32 p.m. City records indicate the home is owned by Pascual and his wife, Florentina.
Neighbors said the Pascuals lived there with two grown children.
Fujii said Pascual was wanted in connection with an arson case, but refused to say whether the arson case was related to the fire at Pascual's home.
Fujii said the handgun, drugs and drug paraphernalia were recovered from Pascual's hotel room.
Fujii said Pascual has two prior misdemeanor convictions. One was for violation of a temporary restraining order that occurred in July 2004, and the other was for abuse of a household member.
On Oct. 11, 2003, Pascual's son, Arthur Flor Garcia Pascual, 21, died after he lost control of his car on Ala Napunani Street in Salt Lake and struck a lamppost near Ala Puaala Place.
Police arrested Pascual yesterday for investigation of two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, promoting dangerous drugs in the third degree and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Other charges could follow, Fujii said.
