UPDATE

Honolulu police said four people were fatally shot and two were injured after a “neighbor-on-neighbor dispute” led to gunfire at a family gathering late Saturday night in Waianae Valley.

According to the Honolulu Police Department, at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, 911 callers reported to police that a neighbor was using a front-loader to ram multiple cars into a home on a dead-end street off Waianae Valley Road.

“Multiple individuals were in the carport and fled or tried to flee when the suspect opened fire, striking the victims,” HPD homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said at a midday news conference today at HPD headquarters.

Three women, ages 36, 34 and 29, were fatally shot, and a 31-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were critically injured and hospitalized, Thoemmes said.

A 42-year-old man who lived at the home then shot and killed the 58-year-old male suspect operating the front-loader, she said.

She said officers arrested the 42-year-old on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Thoemmes said the investigation revealed that the front-loader was also carrying four 55-gallon drums filled with an “unknown fuel,” and that the driver had fired several rounds into the drums.

She said the Honolulu Fire Department’s HazMat crew was helping to remove the drums from the location.

Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan called the latest incident a “neighbor-on-neighbor dispute” that was unrelated to any of the other recent shootings on Oahu’s west side that have led to an increased law enforcement presence in the area and community outreach to combat gun violence. He stressed it was not a random act.

“Unfortunately, criminals are criminals and from time to time, they choose to commit a violent act. And sometimes they may wait for police to pass by and then commit an act,” he said.

Thoemmes said the investigation is preliminary and ongoing but that records show that officers were called to the area in 2023 for a dispute between the same neighbors.

Logan said there were no 911 calls from that area earlier in the day.

He also said, “I don’t think all the guns involved were registered.”

Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued a statement this afternoon saying in part, “I am deeply saddened and alarmed by the tragic shooting that occurred last night in Waianae, where four lives were lost, and two others were seriously injured. This incident, involving neighbors, has shaken our community to its core and is a painful reminder of the violence that has impacted Waianae too often in recent weeks.”

“This marks the fourth high-profile shooting in the area in the past month,” he said. “The frequency and severity of these violent incidents demand urgent attention and action. The City and County of Honolulu stands ready to support the Honolulu Police Department, community leaders, and social service organizations as we work to understand the causes of this violence and take meaningful steps to prevent it.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

A shooting late Saturday night in Waianae killed four people, including the suspect, and wounded two others, authorities said.

“Shortly after 11:15 p.m. Saturday, HPD responded to a residence in the area of 85-1300 Waianae Valley Road,” the Honolulu Police Department said in a social media post early this morning. “Three individuals, including the suspect, were pronounced dead at the scene. Additional people were injured.”

In a subsequent social media post at about 9 a.m., HPD confirmed one of the wounded patients died at a hospital while the other two remain hospitalized.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services personnel “responded with multiple units to a multiple shooting call just after 11:15 p.m. with a total of six patients,” an EMS spokesperson said.

Paramedics assisted with the death pronouncement of two women and one man at the scene.

EMS said paramedics also treated three other people with gunshot wounds, and took them to an emergency room. The wounded included a woman in her 30s or 40s in critical condition; a woman in her 50s in serious condition; and a 31-year-old man in serious condition.

Police homicide investigators remained at the scene this morning.