Hawai‘i Island police are delving into a shooting tied to an alleged home burglary in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, which has left a 42-year-old woman fighting for her life. As reported by Nixle, the confrontation unfolded around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, when Ka‘ū patrol officers were summoned to a residence following a call from the homeowner about a trespassing duo.
When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive woman with a gunshot wound lying in front of a residence in the 92-2500 block of Hukilau Drive. The Hawai‘i Fire Department administered aid and transported her to Kona Community Hospital, where she remains in critical condition. According to the homeowner, 68-year-old Gordon McCormick, the woman had allegedly attempted to burglarize the property, arriving with an unidentified male in a red Ford pickup truck.
McCormick's run-ins with the law extend beyond this incident. During the on-scene investigation, he was arrested for second-degree attempted murder, and it was revealed that he had an outstanding warrant from a 2023 criminal property damage case. Upon searching his home—with permission—police discovered a loaded air rifle. "Due to the severity of the woman’s injuries, officers arrested the homeowner for second-degree attempted murder," the Hawaii Police Department stated.
The subsequent investigation led police to believe that the injured woman, identified as a Captain Cook resident, might been linked to previous thefts on McCormick's property. Interestingly, surveillance footage from Sunday showed a woman in a red and brown Ford pickup truck matching the description of the vehicle involved in the shooting incident. After consultation with the Hawai‘i County Prosecutor’s Office, McCormick was released pending further investigation on Tuesday.
Police are now reaching out to the community for any leads on the red pickup truck or the male driver, described as a Caucasian man in his early to mid-40s. Tips can be given to Detective Donovan Kohara at (808) 960-3118 or through email, with anonymity preserved through Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300, where informants could be in line for a reward of up to $1,000.
