One man was killed and three others wounded in a shootout this morning in a Waianae neighborhood during a discussion over the return of a stolen firearm.
Honolulu Police Department homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said a 53-year-old man who lived at 86-927 Pohaikuahiwi Place had filed a police report days earlier about a vehicle break-in and the theft of some cash and a firearm. She said he had contacted three men to discuss returning the gun, and they arrived at about 8:30 a.m. in a black sport utility vehicle.
One of the suspects from the SUV shot at the 53-year-old man, with the bullet grazing his head. The man then went into his house, retrieved a gun and shot back, killing the gunman, who was said to be in his 30s.
A man, whom a neighbor identified as someone who works for the 53-year-old resident, happened to show up at that time and tried to render aid to the fatally wounded gunman. A second suspect from the SUV then shot at the worker, wounding him.
The second gunman and his companion got into the SUV, and as they drove off, the 53-year-old man fired at the vehicle. The SUV stopped a short distance away, and the second gunman, who had been driving, fell out of the vehicle seriously wounded, Thoemmes said.
The identities of the men involved in the shootout were not released, and the third suspect from the SUV remained at large tonight.
Emergency Medical Services said paramedics responded to a call about multiple gunshot victims at 8:40 a.m. Two men, ages 47 and 53, were reported to be in serious condition, and a 49-year-old man was in stable condition with gunshot wounds mostly to his upper body.
The 53-year-old man was in stable condition today, according to his neighbor, Peter Ataie, who is completing construction of a home that shares a driveway with the man’s house.
Ataie said they have both been the victims of five burglaries between them and that his neighbor was just protecting himself and his property. The string of burglaries occurred within the past two weeks, he said, and $1,800 in cash had been taken from one of the man’s vehicles.
According to Ataie, tools have been stolen, and keys were taken from heavy equipment belonging to the man. He said his neighbor owns the older gray house at the top of the driveway, while Ataie owns the newer gray house at the bottom of the driveway, and that the shootout began closer to the other man’s house.
Ataie said that before the gunfire erupted, he heard the SUV drive up the driveway and told his neighbor they were there for a reward he had put up for the tools and equipment that were missing.
As detectives investigated the shooting, the driveway remained cordoned off this afternoon.
One neighbor who did not want to be identified was still nervous about the morning gun violence and said, “We hope it’s over. We hope there’s no retaliation. We got a lot of little kids around here.”
Another neighbor, Kawehi Kaula, 25, who lives below the 53-year-old man’s home, said, “We heard the echoing of gunshots this morning. I put my ear closer to the mountain. My mom was outside and the dogs started going crazy. SWAT came through the street and were also at the top of the hill.”
She said the officers from HPD’s Specialized Services Division talked to the neighbors who were milling about outside. The residents were unable to leave their street for hours. She said her sister was supposed to go to work but couldn’t get out.
Kaula said her father had spoken in the past to the neighbor who was involved in the shooting, but just about where to get heavy equipment like his.
