Officer James K. Keonaona

James K. Keonaona

Officer James Keonaona was shot and killed by a prison escapee near the Honouliuli Internment Camp.

The prisoner had been serving a murder sentence in the Oahu prison but had escaped in 1921. Officer Keonaona saw the man walk past his house in the morning as he walked to his outhouse. Seeing the man, he ran back inside, grabbed his gun, and confronted him.

Upon being told he was under arrest, the man asked to smoke a cigarette and Officer Keonaona said he could. The man reached inside his shirt but instead pulled out a handgun and shot Officer Keonaona in the face, killing him instantly. Officer Keonaona's wife witnessed the shooting.

The man fled but was arrested approximately two hours later. He was subsequently hanged at the prison on Oahu on October 26th, 1923.