The elderly man who allegedly shot and wounded his ailing wife at Castle Medical Center was described as pleasant and quiet yesterday, and a neighbor said he never saw the Olomana couple argue.

The shooting happened about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday. Police said Robert Yagi, 71, of Ululani Street, shot his 71-year-old wife in her room at Castle Medical Center, where she is a patient. Afterward, he was detained by hospital staff and security guards.

In a statement, Castle said yesterday that no other patients or staff were "endangered by the perpetrator."

Yagi was arrested for attempted second-degree murder, and his wife was treated at the hospital for a gunshot wound.

Police said Yagi has no prior criminal history. They declined to comment on a motive behind the attack.

But a neighbor said Yagi's wife is very ill and had been in declining health for several months.

The Yagis live less than five minutes on foot from Castle Medical Center. Yesterday, at the Yagis' home, a woman who answered the door did not want to talk about the shooting.

Another neighbor said he was shocked to hear of the shooting.

Francis Calleon said he never saw the Yagis argue. He added that the couple often went places together.

"It's a complete surprise to me," he said, adding that the Yagis have lived in the community for more than three decades. Calleon said he last saw Robert Yagi three weeks ago.

The shooting has spurred hospitals islandwide to review their security policies.

Hospitals say the incident warrants a discussion on whether their security is adequate, but officials also said they can't protect their facilities against every threat while still providing open, welcoming campuses for patients and visitors.

"We'll be asking ourselves as an industry what more we should do, if anything," said Toby Clairmont, director of emergency services for the Healthcare Association of Hawai'i. "You try to balance the relative risks against" costs.

Yesterday, Castle assured patients and employees that the Kailua facility is safe.

"As with any crisis situation like this, security procedures will again be reviewed," the hospital said in its statement. "Police assured us that we do not need to be concerned for our safety based on this single incident."

Castle also said it is providing support to the Yagi family, and has debriefed staff on the nursing unit where the shooting occurred. "Counselors are available to help them process these events," Castle said.

Clairmont, of HHA, said big hospitals on the Mainland have tough security, from armed security guards to metal detectors for visitors, because they have grappled with violent incidents.

But in Hawai'i, such incidents are rare. "We just don't see that activity," he said.

Hospitals islandwide have different security measures, depending on their size. The Queen's Medical Center, which is a Level 1 trauma hospital, has metal detectors and X-ray machines to screen visitors to its ER. After hours, visitors throughout the hospital must go through metal detectors.

Most other hospitals in Hawai'i don't have metal detectors.

Clairmont said hospitals islandwide have security guards, but they are not armed.

Castle officials did not return phone calls yesterday on whether the hospital has a metal detector, but there was no metal detector visible at the ER yesterday. There were security guards patrolling the campus.

Gary Dias, director of security services and emergency management at Queen's, said the shooting at Castle spurred Queen's to look at its security procedures.

He said officials determined yesterday that security was tight enough, and nothing needed to be changed.

"The procedures we have are sufficient for an organization our size," he said, adding the shooting seems "incident-specific."