The community of Kalihi was rocked by a fatal shooting at an illegal game room on Tuesday night, just after 10 p.m. A 30-year-old man was reported to have been shot multiple times upon entering the establishment on La'a Lane and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, as confirmed by KHON2. In response to the violent incident, a 38-year-old suspect turned himself in to Honolulu police yesterday afternoon, facing murder charges.
Residents in the area have expressed their concerns about the game room, which appeared to be a source of constant unrest. One neighbor, choosing to remain anonymous, recounted to KHON2, "I heard a gunshots, about five shots, that was so scary. Really scared." Another, named Evelyn, described her reaction to the incident: "When I heard the gunshots, I never came out. I just tell my roommate, ‘oh, somebody fighting, I think.’ Then he looked out the window and then said, 'I think so.'" According to Kalihi Neighborhood Board Chair Amanda Ybanez, frequent disturbances have forced the community to question the sounds at night, stating, "Is it a firecracker? Is it a gunshot? It’s really sad when you have to kind of start to differentiate what kind of noise that is."
The operation of illegal game rooms and the dangers they pose have long been a concern for local authorities and residents alike. With between 50 and 75 active game rooms in Oahu at any given time, per Honolulu police, the fight against such establishments has proved challenging. City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, vocal about the issue, has proposed several bills aiming to empower law enforcement and city agencies to act more effectively against these rooms. As he put it to KHON2, one bill would simplify the process for landlords to evict tenants running game rooms, while others would enhance coordination between city agencies and require electronic amusement devices to be registered for easier seizure by police.
Over the past five years, at least four deadly shootings have occurred at similar venues. In 2024 alone, Honolulu Police Department raided 44 illegal establishments, seizing gambling machines, firearms, and drugs. "You should see the amount of cars that come by here, like sometimes seven or nine," a resident lamented to Hawaii News Now, highlighting the high traffic of such game rooms. Dos Santos-Tam echoed this concern, stressing the need for new legislation: “Means giving HPD a few more tools in terms of these unregulated gaming machines. Part of the challenge is, HPD goes in, they see a bunch of gaming machines, they seize them, then they have to prove they’ve been used for gambling,” he told Hawaii News Now. His proposed bill, set to be heard in March, seeks to streamline the process for police to take decisive actions against unregistered gambling devices.
