Security guard at shopping center arrested after shooting

Several people watched as a security guard raised his weapon and fired two shots at a family, including a woman carrying her 7-month-old daughter, on Thursday afternoon at Wahiawa Shopping Center.

The guard, 26, of Mililani, was arrested at the shopping center for investigation of four counts of second-degree attempted murder, reckless endangering and a firearm offense.

According to various accounts, the family confronted the guard at about 5:50 p.m. about sexual comments made to a 16-year-old girl. The guard left, came back with a gun and argued with the family, who was returning home. He fired two shots from a distance of about 30 feet but did not hit anyone.

Charles Watson, 13, was walking back from Longs Drugs when he saw the family yelling at the guard about a sexual comment he made to the girl, and the family went back to its apartment next to the shopping center loading dock.

The security guard walked to his red Nissan Infinity sedan and took a silver handgun from beneath the seat, Watson said. The guard waved the gun in the air and argued, across a chain-link fence, with family members as they stood on a second-story porch.

The man fired the gun, took a few steps back and fired again while about 30 feet from the family, Watson said. The guard put the gun in his waistband and walked away.

"When he shot I couldn’t move, I was stuck," Watson said.

The man was working for Phoenix Security Hawaii, according to Wahiawa Shopping Center officials. The president of Phoenix Security did not return calls for comment Friday.

Jared Watumull, vice president of the Wahiawa Shopping Center, said he was appalled by the actions of a contractor’s employee.

"We are currently evaluating our relationship with that company," Watumull said. "We’re just glad no one was hurt."

The security guards are not allowed to carry guns.

Further down on the second-floor of the two-story walkup, Antonino Fajardo, 59, said he believes he helped scare off the guard.

Fajardo stepped out the screen door and cocked his shotgun to get the gunman’s attention, who was about 30 feet away, and the man began walking away.

"If he point his gun my place, I’m going to shoot his hand," Fajardo said. "I scared him, so nobody hurt."

A 31-year-old man who is a member of the family and asked to remain anonymous to avoid damaging the investigation said the man came back to their apartment after the argument and called him out. His girlfriend told the man she had already called the police and to stop waving his gun around because of the children.

The family member said the guard told her, "You think this is a game," and pulled the trigger.