Hawaii police hunt armed suspect in triple elderly homicide

Police in Hawaii are searching for a man suspected of killing three elderly men in a rural coastal community over two days, an incident that has left residents shaken and prompted a widespread manhunt. Authorities have identified the suspect as 36-year-old Jacob Daniel Baker of Pāhoa and describe him as armed and extremely dangerous.

The killings occurred in the Puna district on the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island. The first victim, a 69-year-old man, was found partially submerged in a cement pond at a residence off Railroad Avenue on Monday evening. Police initially could not determine if foul play was involved, but an autopsy performed Wednesday confirmed the death was a homicide.

Less than 24 hours later, at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, officers discovered a second victim, a 79-year-old man, dead from blunt force trauma at a home on Papaya Farms Road, located just 400 to 500 feet from the first scene. That same evening, shortly before 10 p.m., police responding to a welfare check found a third victim, another 69-year-old man, dead at a property on Kalapana Kapoho Beach Road, roughly 19 miles away.

Police Chief Reed Mahuna stated that investigators are...