WAIANAE, Hawaii (KHON2) — Sunday’s shooting of a 15-year-old boy in Waianae has left community members shaken.
Police said the investigation is ongoing, but no one has been arrested and residents said arrests in that case are not all they are waiting for.
HPD believes multiple suspects were involved in Sunday’s shooting and they had some sort of interaction with the victim before the boy was shot. The area neighborhood board chair said knowing that people who shot a child are still on the loose is unsettling.
“Not only as a community member, but as a mother. I’m worried about the safety of my children and the other children in our community,” Samantha Decorte said. “We have no update! We still don’t know if these shooters are in our neighborhood right down the street or even next door from our families.”
Honolulu EMS said the 15-year-old suffered apparent gun shot wounds in his arm and leg before he was transported to the hospital in serious condition.
“At the age of 15. Right? And so when I look around, more violence is happening, more boldness,” God Forgives Bad Boys & Bad Girls president Mana Olayan said. “For me it’s, more can be done. The wort thing we can do, Bryce, is do nothing.”
Both brought up the neighborhood security walks that bolster engagement with HPD but expressed concern over the Waianae police station that is only able to process requests. Decorte pointed to the case of Richianna DeGuzman, the Maili teenager who was shot in the head in June 2023.
“And still till this day, there are no suspects,” Decorte said. “Overall, there is an uneasiness in the community about, number one, HPD and their investigators being effective. And number two, them taking a serious look on how they can bring more patrol enhancement to our community.”
Community leaders are planning another neighborhood security walk on Friday, July 12 out west. They are still deciding on a location but expect hundreds to turn out.
“Maybe in the community, people don’t have the trust with HPD and so we build the trust with HPD and get us more engaged with them,” Olayan said.
“The community does what the community does best and that’s rally together,” Decorte said. “And they are just sick and tired of just continual crimes being had over and over again.”
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Police said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and the 15-year-old boy remains in the hospital.