Attempted murder suspect arrested on Hawaiʻi Island

HAMAKUA, Hawaii (KHON2) — In the evening of Tuesday, May 16, Hawaiʻi Island police said they initiated an attempted murder investigation.

According to Hawaiʻi Island police, they initiated the investigation following a shooting incident in Honoka‘a that left a 39-year-old man in critical condition.

Hawaiʻi Island police said that on Tuesday evening around 6 p.m. that Hāmākua patrol officers responded to a report of a shooting on Rickard Place, off Māmane Street in Honoka‘a.

Once police arrived, they said they discovered that a person was lying on the ground conscious and that a bystander was providing aid for the person.

Police said the victim’s injuries appeared to be to the top of his head and to his neck. He was immediately transported via ambulance to North Hawai’i Community Hospital in Waimea.

The victim was then flown to the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu where he received further treatment.

There was a witness to the incident.

According to Hawaiʻi Island police, the witness at the scene reported that he and the victim were hanging out in the area on Rickard Place when the 29-year-old alleged shoot, who is from Honoka‘a, joined them.

After the alleged shooter had been there for a while, the witness said that he became agitated with the victim. This is when he allegedly pulled out his handgun and shot the victim multiple times.

After allegedly shooting the victim, the alleged shooter fled the scene on foot but was still in possession of the gun.

Once Area I Criminal Investigation Section detectives responded to the scene to investigate, they classified the incident as a second-degree attempted murder.

Hawaiʻi Island police went on to canvas the area in order to locate the alleged shooter and located and arrested him without incident at 8:22 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17 in a wooded area off Lehua Street in Honoka‘a.

Police are asking that anyone who may have witnessed this incident to contact the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Detective Scotty Aloy at (808) 961-2381 or email him at Scotty-Aloy@hawaiicounty.gov.