HONOLULU (KHON2) — The man accused of randomly attacking two people in Miliani on Wednesday, Feb. 1 has been charged. Honolulu police said, Desmond Kekahuna was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault. He remains in custody on $1 million bail. 

He is accused of hitting a woman with his vehicle on Wednesday morning, Feb. 1, in a Miliani parking lot, then assaulting her. Police said he then attacked a man who tried to intervene. 

Zachariah Jones said a regular trip to the store turned into a nightmare Wednesday. 

“I’d never thought it would happen to me or anybody else,” said Zachariah Jones, who helped save the woman from attack.

Jones said he heard a loud crash in a Miliani parking lot, when the situation unfolded. That is when Honolulu police said a woman was intentionally hit by a car. Jones said he thought it was a car crash at first, but other bystanders called on him to come and help the woman until, police said, the suspect turned on Jones. 

“I just put my hands up and tried to be non-threatening, and I backed out was, like ‘hey, I’m just trying to help’. And, then, that’s when he started hitting me,” Jones said. 

Honolulu police identified the suspect as Desmond Kekahuna. The 46-year-old was charged Friday, Feb. 3 with attempted murder and second-degree assault. 

“I just remember rolling over to my back, and I locked eyes with him. And, he kept telling me, ‘leave me alone, leave me alone.’ I didn’t understand what he meant because I just told him, ‘I’m trying to help; I’m trying to help.'”

Jones said he previously served in the Navy, and he was just in the right place at the right time. 

“I was always raised to help people that need that help. I think with the training that I got in the military, when that lady started barking orders at me, I’m, like, ‘yes, ma’am,'” Jones said. 

Jones’s family is shaken up by the incident, but they are not surprised he stepped in. 

“I’m proud of him because he went to give aid to that woman, and it seems like the guy’s attention was turned on my son,” said James Jerry Jones, Zachariah’s father. 

“My son is a hero,” he added.

Jones said he was released from the hospital Thursday, Feb. 2. He is still on the road to recovery both physically and mentally following the traumatic attack, but he is just glad he was there to help. 

“I’m no hero. This was me just trying to help someone in need,” Jones said. 

According to police, the 37-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Kekahuna remains in custody on $1 million bail.