Was a Bullet Fired at a Mauna Kea Observatory?

Hawaii County police are investigating a report of damage to the Subaru Telescope.

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Various news reports Sunday say that police on Hawaii Island are looking into damage to a telescope on Mauna Kea.

“Officers responded to a report late Saturday night of what appeared to be a ‘bullet hole’ in a door at the Subaru Telescope,” the reports say.

Mauna Kea summit view from TMT site looking up towards the Keck and Subaru telescopes. 9 april 2015. photograph Cory Lum/Civil Beat

The Mauna Kea summit view from the TMT site looking towards the Keck and Subaru telescopes.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

The damage reportedly occurred sometime between Friday evening and Saturday evening, and the police are asking people with information about the incident to call them or, if they desire anonymity, call Crime Stoppers.

The latest development on the mountain comes just as it was announced Friday that a legal challenge to the Thirty Meter Telescope is headed to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports that the standoff over the TMT continues.

A small group of protesters, “mostly Native Hawaiians who call themselves protectors of the mountain they consider sacred,” maintain a 24-hour presence, while security guards keep watch at the summit.

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