A US federal agent charged with killing a man inside a McDonald's restaurant in Waikiki was in Hawaii to help with security at this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, officials say.
State Department special agent Christopher Deedy, 27, is charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Deedy, who was released Monday after posting $US250,000 bail, is accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Kollin Elderts during a confrontation early on Saturday at a McDonald's in the famous tourist Waikiki district.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that Deedy was in Honolulu to beef up security ahead of the APEC conference, which begins on Tuesday. The agent has been put on paid administrative leave.
"This was a tragic incident in Hawaii over the weekend," Nuland told reporters on Monday. She said she couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation, but said the State Department was cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Deedy was assigned to "support protection of dignitaries" at the meeting, Nuland said.
President Barack Obama and leaders of 21-member economies from the Asia-Pacific region are scheduled to attend the summit, which is being hosted by the US for the first time since 1993.
Honolulu police are still investigating what led to the shooting, but a few details began to emerge Monday.
Michael Green, a lawyer for Elderts' family, said Elderts and Deedy didn't know each other and that Elderts was unarmed.
Green said Elderts was at a Waikiki club before ending up at the McDonald's on Kuhio Avenue.
The conference is hosted by a different member nation or economy each year. Last year, it was in Yokohama, Japan.
The White House has said Obama chose his birthplace of Honolulu for the meeting to highlight America's position as a Pacific nation. The last time the summit was in the US was when President Bill Clinton was in office. That gathering took place on Blake Island near Seattle.
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