The 60-year-old man fatally shot by a Honolulu police officer Wednesday night in Waianae fired a stolen .40-caliber handgun into a neighbor’s home after his girlfriend fled there seeking safety following an assault, HPD Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan said Thursday afternoon during a news conference.

The shooting death came just nine days after a man was killed at the Waianae Small Boat Harbor in a shooting that prompted state lawmakers to call for peace in the community.

“The Honolulu Police Department, with our community policing teams, and other elements (are) working with the community to solve the problem. This is not just a law enforcement problem; this is a criminal justice problem. This is individuals that maybe belong in jail and don’t belong on the streets,” said Logan.

“The four or five officers that work in the Waianae area at any given time can’t be everywhere all the time. … They were down the street at another call just prior to this one, and they got to the scene as quickly as possible. We need help. We need people in the community that live in the community, that know things are going on, that understand who is in their communities that may be armed, may be doing dangerous things, to help the police do our job and help their community, ensuring they are not a victim later on. … This is not just a police issue. This is a community and social issue,” the chief said.

Alston “Kaipo” Awong was declared dead at the scene Wednesday by Emergency Medical Services paramedics.

Awong had 11 prior state felony convictions, including drug, firearm and terroristic threatening offenses. Awong also had a prior conviction for assaulting a law enforcement officer.

A petition for a temporary restraining order against him in July 2023 cannot be viewed on the state’s Judiciary Electronic Filing and Service System because it is “confidential and not public record at this time,” according to a system note.

The patrol officer who shot and killed Awong has four years of service with HPD.

Shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, officers were sent to a home on Puhinalo Place in Waianae. A 911 caller reported an argument in the street, followed by reports of an “armed male shooting at and trying to enter a home,” said Logan during a news conference Thursday at HPD’s Alapai Street headquarters.

When officers arrived they heard “screaming from inside the home.”

“They ran to the back of the house and found a male armed with a handgun. The male was standing inside a shattered glass door. The closest officer repeatedly ordered the male to drop the firearm,” Logan said.

“But instead of putting the gun down, the male racked a round, pulled the slide back and let it slide forward. At this time the officer fired two rounds at the suspect. The male fell to the ground, and the officer administered first aid until paramedics arrived,” he said.

Logan said body-worn camera footage of the shooting will be released to the public when the investigation is finished.

Two women, ages 32 and 34, and a 25-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds that were not life- threatening. Awong’s girlfriend, who is 76, suffered “assault-type injuries,” and two other adults and two juveniles were also in the home but not injured.

Awong lived across the street from the house that he allegedly shot into. He was reportedly arguing with his girlfriend before her relative, who lives across the street from Awong, took her into his home.

Awong went into his home and came out with an unlicensed homemade rifle, according to police.

“He pointed the rifle at a neighbor and at the relative’s home and tried unsuccessfully to fire the rifle,” Logan said. “The suspect then went back into his own home and came out with a handgun, which is when he walked across the street and shot approximately four rounds into his girlfriend’s relative’s home.”

The handgun used by Awong was stolen, Logan said. HPD officers had responded to Awong’s residence in 2022 for a fight with his girlfriend and in 2023 to investigate a terroristic threatening complaint.

There are four to five patrol officers working the Waianae area, and at the time Awong opened fire, they were responding to another call in the area, Logan said.

In 2023 there were 253 aggravated assaults in the District 8 patrol area and 10 killings. So far this year there have been 134 aggravated assaults in the district and four killings.

The police shooting is the second fatal one in Waianae in the past nine days.

A 31-year-old man was shot and killed last week at the Waianae Boat Harbor following a long-running dispute with a 25-year-old man.

Rastan Jaitano Hekah Brown-Castro was indicted Tuesday by an Oahu grand jury in connection with the Aug. 6 death of Cheylo Perkins-­Chongtim, 31.

Brown-Castro was arrested at 11:12 a.m. Aug. 6 at 87-0891 Farrington Highway on suspicion of second-­degree murder.

He allegedly crashed a truck and fled on foot after the shooting, prompting a nearby school to tighten security.