A 45-year-old man is in custody after police say he pointed a black rifle at another man and fired in his direction near a church in Kahaluʻu, missing his target before fleeing on foot. The 38-year-old victim reported the shooting to Honolulu police on Thursday afternoon, saying it followed an earlier argument between the two men.
According to Honolulu Police
, District 4 Patrol officers opened an Attempted Murder in the Second Degree case after the report came in around 2 p.m. Thursday. The victim told officers the suspect fired the rifle at him but missed before running from the scene. Investigators say the incident happened in the area of a church in Kahaluʻu, though the exact nature of the earlier dispute between the two men has not been disclosed.
Crime Reduction Unit Tracks Down Fleeing Suspect
After the suspect fled on foot, District 4 Crime Reduction Unit officers conducted checks of the surrounding area and located him near the intersection of Kamehameha Highway and Lihikai Street, per the same police account. Kamehameha Highway runs through Kahaluʻu. He was arrested there without incident and booked for Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. Police say the investigation remains ongoing.
The District 4 Crime Reduction Unit has been involved in arrests across Windward Oahu this year. In August, District 4 CRU officers tracked down and arrested a 52-year-old suspect in Kaimuki for second-degree attempted murder tied to a stabbing along Kalanianaʻole Highway, and in June, the same unit arrested seven suspects — including several juveniles — on charges of Attempted Assault in the First Degree and Kidnapping following a violent group assault at Waialeʻe Beach.
What Attempted Murder Charges Require Under Hawaii Law
Proving attempted second-degree murder when a fired shot misses its target requires prosecutors to establish specific intent to cause death, under the state's criminal attempt statute. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 705-500 holds that a person is guilty of criminal attempt if they intentionally engage in conduct constituting a substantial step toward completing a crime, according to Justia Law. The potential sentence is not specified in the cited material. The offense also carries no statute of limitations under Hawaii Revised Statutes § 701-108, meaning prosecutors could pursue the case at any point, according to Westlaw.
District 4 is HPD's geographically largest patrol command, covering Windward Oahu from Makapuu Point to Kawela Bay, per the Honolulu Police Department. The district operates out of the Kaneohe Police Station along with substations in Kailua and Kahuku, giving it a wide swath of coastline and rural roadway to cover when officers respond to reports like Thursday's shooting.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Deadly Violence on Oahu
The Kahaluʻu shooting comes in the context of Hawaii's overall crime figures. This account does not provide statewide or Oahu-specific percentages for crime trends.
Thursday's arrest is the latest in a string of violent incidents Hoodline has tracked in Kahaluʻu and across HPD's Windward district this year. In May, Hoodline covered gunfire outside a Kahaluʻu landmark after a suspect fired at an acquaintance and fled. In August, a Waimanalo stabbing involved a 58-year-old man. The article does not provide a verified account of the alleged July hit-and-run arrest. Police have not said whether the rifle used in Thursday's shooting has been recovered, and formal charges from the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney have not yet been announced.
