Pearl Harbor Shooting

The Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, happened 77 years ago. Saturday, December 7, 2019, will mark 78 years.

2:30

At 2:30 pm local Hawaiian time, on December 4, 2019, a male U.S. Navy sailor shot three people, then killed himself at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday, four days before the anniversary. The shootings happened near Dry Dock 2 and 3.

Of the three victims, two people died almost immediately and one was hospitalized in stable condition, officials at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam said.

Notice the numbers 2 and 3 crop up often in this shooting. A total of 2300 American-aligned individuals died at Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941.

Columbia

The names of the victims, all Department of Defense civilian workers, will be released after their families are notified.

Officials identified the gunman as an active duty sailor assigned to the USS Columbia. (Please refer to my essay on the meanings associated with Columbia, Columbus, and Columbine here.) The submarine was being repaired at the dry dock.

Victim identified: Vincent Kapoi Jr.

Pearl Harbor shooter identified as Petty Officer Gabriel Romero. One of the victims who was killed has been identified as 32 year old Vincent Kapoi Jr. Shooter used his M4 service rifle to kill the victims, and then turned the gun on himself, using his M9 service pistol.

USS Columbia (SSN-771), is the 60th flight II Improved Los Angeles-class attack submarine, and is the eighth vessel of the United States Navy to bear that name. The earlier Columbia's were given their names for differing reasons; SSN-771 was specifically named in honor of Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, and Columbia, Illinois.

It was unclear what type of gun was used or whether the attack was targeted.

A Synchromystical Place

Located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the naval shipyard is across the harbor from the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Japanese imperialists bombed the harbor on December 7, 1941, killing more than 2,300 Americans. Survivors from the attack had already begun arriving in Honolulu for commemoration events, the base tweeted.

As I noted in "Pearl Harbor: A Synchromystical Place?" (December 7, 2013), the location was associated with hauntings and folklore long before the Japanese attack there in 1941. 

Narwhal

In the wake of December 7, 1941...

A view of the Navy Yard as seen from the Submarine Base in Southeast Loch. Honolulu, St. Louis, San Fransisco, and New Orleans are visible in the center distance. The submarine Narwhal is in the left foreground, while smoke in distance is from burning vessels in Dry Dock No. 1, YFD-2, and Battleship Row to the right.