Vincent Kapoi Jr.: A Tribute to the Pearl Harbor Shooting Victim

Vincent Kapoi Jr., the first Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard shooting victim named, was a 32-year-old newlywed with a podcast about building wealth and a bright future ahead of him.

The active shooter opened fire at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Dry Dock 2 on December 4, 2019. According to KHON2, the shooter was an “active-duty U.S. Sailor assigned to the USS Columbia.” Officials said he shot three Department of Defense civilian workers before killing himself; two of those victims died, and Kapoi was the first named, via sources, by KHON2. The suspect was named as Gabriel Romero.

“Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and everyone involved,” said Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick, commander of Navy Region Hawaii to Hawaii News Now. “This is certainly a tragedy for everyone here.” The motive was not clear.

A GoFundMe has been launched to help Kapoi’s family.

“MY NEPHEW A MAN WITH A FEW WORDS LIFE IS NOT THE SAME WITH OUT THAT SMILE GOING TO MIS YOU BOI ALWAYS 1LOVE Vince boi Kapoi,” Alfred Meyers wrote on Facebook.

“He will always be that easygoing, fun-loving, ‘let’s do this’ man that will remain in our hearts,” the sister of Vincent Kapoi Jr. told NBC News.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kapoi Was Married & Worked as a Life Insurance Agent

Vincent Kapoi with his wife.

Vince Kapoi’s Facebook profile picture shows his beach wedding. It was posted in April 2019. On Facebook, he wrote that he was a “Life Insurance Agent at MPG Wealth” who lived and was from Waianae, Hawaii. He wrote that he “manages Control Your Wealth With Vincent Kapoi Jr.”

He had started a podcast. “My new podcast is up and running,” he wrote on Facebook. “I’m still in the process of perfecting my ‘voice’ you can listen here or visit my page ‘Control Your Wealth With Vincent Kapoi Jr.'” A relative responded, “Cousin I listened to them all. Eye opener and put things into a different perspective for my journey to financial freedom.” You can listen to his podcast here.

On LinkedIn, Vince Kapoi Jr. identified himself as a “business professional.” He wrote that he had worked as a life insurance specialist for Mutual Producers Group since August 2019. Before that he was a field operations manager for Mainscape in Honolulu, a management trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car for three years, and a delivery assistant and maintenance worker for Aloha Seafood for two years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also wrote that he went to the University of San Francisco, receiving a bachelor of science degree in business entrepreneurship.

In 2011, he wrote, “anybody wanna buy/need pots pans plates bowls spices, cooking utensils, tv table and other stuff let me know” and indicated he needed to sell items to pay tuition.

On his business Facebook page, he wrote, “My name is Vincent Kapoi Jr. I’m from Waianae, Hawaii, my goal for this page and my business is to help people who are in the same situation I was in find a way out, I felt stuck in my 9-5 job wanting to have independence from it, wanting independence from typical financial advice, wanting independence from outside factors. I created a podcast trying to educate people on the way they can take control of their life by taking control of their finances and time. You can listen to my podcast below, feel free to like and post any comments or questions you have.”

Friends Filled Social Media With Tributes to Vincent Kapoi Jr., Calling Him ‘Such a Sweet Guy’

FacebookVincent Kapoi Jr.

People flooded social media with tributes.

One friend wrote, “This hurts my heart. Vince was such a sweet guy. I have no words. My heart goes out to the Kapoi ohana ?? Rest easy my friend Vincent J Kapoi Jr.”

Another wrote, “So sad! I’m speechless. Literally went to the same school as him from kindergarten till high school. Prayers to Vern and the rest of the Kapoi family.”

“So sad ?? he was a nice guy,” said another. “Vincent you’ll not be forgotten thanks for being such a great guy and may you be resting in love!! Prayers to the kapoi family!!!” another added.

“RIL Vincent. My husband and you recently attended an insurance training and he mentioned how awesome you are. This is so sad. My condolences to your family and friends. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers,” said another woman.

Another person wrote, “That’s my cousin in law …ending prayers and love to the family. Rest in Paradise Vincent!” Another relative wrote, “We love you cousin! And some of us was just talking about next years Big island reunion.”

Another woman indicated, “My condolences to Kapoi family. I had the honor of working with him back in the day at Enterprise. He always made the day go by faster, and was always a great worker.”

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