Kauai police wound
armed driver of SUV

A Kauai police officer shot an armed suspect yesterday morning after the man allegedly rammed his sport utility vehicle into a police car.

The suspect was airlifted to the Queen's Medical Center, where he is in stable condition. Police did not say where on his body he had been shot. The officer in the vehicle that had been rammed was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. A spokeswoman for the Kauai Police Department said the officer who shot the suspect was put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The incident happened about 6:30 a.m., when a caller told police the driver of a white SUV was driving erratically on Kapule Highway while holding a knife and a handgun. Police said the driver turned down Kaana Street and stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac in front of the Kauai Police Department's headquarters.

The suspect then allegedly got out of his vehicle holding a large knife and then reached into his vehicle and pulled out a handgun. He allegedly threatened officers and then drove his SUV into a police car. When he attempted to ram the officer's car again, he was shot once.