HONOLULU (KHON2) — West Oahu residents woke up to a wave of violence that began just after midnight.
At around 12:30 a.m., Honolulu police say a 25-year-old man had just arrived home when he says a silver Toyota Corolla drove past and opened fire. He wasn’t hit but his car took multiple rounds.
Neighbors say the car was parked next to the home of the victim in a fatal shooting last month in Makaha.
Police have opened an attempted murder case and the suspect remains on the run.
Neighbor Lisa Garcia said that her family heard the gunshots.
“I heard ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ so me and my son get up, we come out of the room and we’re like, ‘did you hear that?’ and I said, ‘yes, I heard that.’ ‘Gunfire?’ and I said, ‘yeah, gunfire,’” Garcia said. “It is scary. It is scary.”
Just 25 minutes earlier, another shooting occurred just down the road at Maili Beach Park.
A 22-year-old man camping with family and friends was walking near the parking lot when he told police a 16-year-old boy approached him. There was a brief exchange of words, then gunfire, according to authorities.
The victim was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. The teen suspect reportedly fled in a black colored vehicle. He has not yet been arrested.
“Why is this happening? We need to do something to get this thing to stop,” said Francis Souza, a long time Waianae resident.
Just hours later, police arrested two men for firearms possession and drugs after they were stopped for shooting a gun toward the ocean in the Nanakuli area.
Local lawmakers are frustrated that these incidences only seem to perpetuate Waianae’s reputation as a dangerous area.
“It draws all this attention it takes away from the good work that’s occurring,” said Rep. Darius Kila, who represents Honokai Hale to Maili. “This is where I call on community for us to interrupt these behaviors, these incidents of crime and violence because this is not the story I know of Waianae, this is not the story they know and its not the story I want told to the state.”
They say to stem the violence, it’s going to take more community involvement and addressing root causes.
“As adults in our community, being mindful of how we’re portraying ourselves to these youth, they’re going to duplicate what they see is fit or what they think is cool,” Kila said.
The councilmember for the district says she’s hoping to move forward with the Waianae Public Safety Plan developed last year by members of the Waianae community.
“We’re pursuing the steps to continue to do the things that actually a lot of the kids suggested, which was an increase in youth programs, we have huge gaps in the availability for the youth to do things, and, of course, to be involved with things that have mentors and people to guide
them,” said Councilmember Andria Tupola.
HPD says all three cases are active investigations. Anyone with information is asked to call police.