HONOLULU (KHON2) — A suspect remains at large after allegedly shooting at a 20-year-old woman in a Mililani parking lot Friday night, April 7.
Honolulu police said the suspect fired a handgun at the woman and then threw some type of chemical at her.
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Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said the woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition with burns to her body.
A long-time 24 Hour Fitness member was getting ready to leave the gym at 9:27 p.m. on Friday when a woman came running inside hysterical.
“I was on my way out when a woman kind of burst into the gym. She’s obviously very terrified and kind of immediately goes to hide behind the front desk counter,” explained the witness. “And, what I saw was she was kind of covered in some kind of chemical fluid; it looked like a dark blackish-blueish color.”
“She was just behind the desk and really panicked and hysterical just hiding from someone or something going on outside,” he continued.
The witness said people grabbed water bottles and started pouring water on her to get the fluid off because “it was obviously burning her,” he said.
He said the water did help get the fluid off, “a lot of it was dripping all over the front desk at the gym just everywhere, there was a lot,” the witness explained.
Police, EMS, and hazmat teams arrived on the scene.
The witness said the woman was wearing gym clothes but didn’t know if she was leaving the gym or just arriving.
Police said the suspect fired one shot at the 20-year-old woman and then threw a chemical on her before fleeing.
The witness said it looked like some kind of auto-fluid.
Police were on the scene Saturday afternoon, April 8; but security would not let KHON2 News on the property.
One red car was blocked off in the parking lot with cones and dyed material underneath, but it’s unknown if it’s relevant to the case at this time.
“So many things have been going on in Mililani lately; and whether it’s coincidental or not, it’s still happening. And, it makes you feel a little on edge in that neighborhood,” the witness, who is also a Mililani resident said.
It’s the fourth violent crime to happen in the typically quiet and safe community in as many months.
In January, a 77-year-old woman was brutally beaten inside her home during a home invasion. In February, a woman was run over by a car in a Mililani parking lot in what police call “a random attack”; and in March, a woman was found killed in a burned car in Mililani High School parking lot.
“I won’t be out here by myself anymore,” said Wahiawa resident Diamond Pewton, who drives through Mililani daily to take her daughter to school. “You usually don’t hear this stuff happening here, especially Mililani. You walk around like you’re safe; so, it’s very shocking, obviously.”
She said there should be more security nearby.
“I don’t know. Hawaii’s not the same anymore,” she added.
“I can’t believe it’s happening here more and more in Mililani,” said Gina Dela Cruz, who owns a shop near the 24-hour fitness. “Our gas station closes at 9, and I worry for my employees now.”
“This was once a really safe community,” she added.
It’s still unknown if the attack on the 20-year-old outside 24 Hour Fitness was random or if the suspect and victim knew one another.
“If it’s random, that’s even scarier,” said Dela Cruz. “Wherever we go, we just have to be extra careful, now.”
Mililani Neighborhood Board Chair Danielle Bass is alarmed by these crimes.
“It’s getting scary here. We’re getting really concerned for our safety here in Mililani. This is four for four, four very serious crimes in the Mililani area this year,” she said.
She said she’ll be urging police to have more patrols and presence in the community at the next board meeting.
“This is not safe for us. Our community has always been a very safe place as long as I’ve lived here which is my whole life,” she said.
