Honolulu police had yet to make an arrest Saturday after an unidentified assailant fired a handgun at a 20-year-old woman outside a 24 Hour Fitness gym in Mililani before dousing her with an unknown chemical, causing second-degree burns.
The incident, which
police have classified as
second-degree attempted murder, occurred around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said the victim was transported to a hospital in serious condition.
The attack is adding to concerns among Mililani
residents about a recent
series of “extremely violent crimes” against women, according to Mililani Neighborhood Board Chair Danielle Bass.
“I’m a lifelong Mililani resident and we’ve never seen, to this level, extremely violent crimes in Mililani in an annual — let alone a monthly — basis,” Bass said Saturday. “This is all very sudden. It is outrageous and it’s scary.”
Last month, Samuel Jones, 25, was charged with second-degree murder for the March 13 stabbing death of his girlfriend, Laau Jordan Laulusa, 21, whose body was found in a burning car in the Mililani High School parking lot.
Desmond Kekahuna, 46, was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault for a random attack Feb. 1 in which he allegedly drove his vehicle into a 37-year-old woman who was pushing her 6-month-old child in a stroller in the Mililani Walmart parking lot, then beating her with a crowbar-like weapon.
The previous month,
Takson Krstoth, 32, was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree assault for allegedly breaking into a Mililani home Jan. 9 and pushing a 77-year-old woman down a flight of stairs before assaulting her.
Bass said the Mililani Neighborhood Board has urged the Honolulu Police Department to increase its coverage in the area, but to no avail.
“Our neighborhood board has been extremely vocal about this. We’ve been really pushing HPD to increase patrolling, policing, and here we are: for the fourth month this year, another extremely violent crime,” Bass said.
She said she tried reaching HPD directly and told Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi about the community’s concerns at a recent town hall meeting.
“I’m getting very concerned about these crimes as neighborhood board chair, as a Mililani resident and woman. … This is becoming excessive,” Bass said. “What’s going to happen next month?”
