A 67-year-old man was seriously injured early Thursday morning when he was stabbed and burned in an older Manoa neighborhood.
Police arrested a 31-year-old man at 5:05 a.m. on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder, fourth- degree arson and resisting arrest. The arrest location was 2623 Halelena Place, but it is unclear whether the crimes occurred at that address.
Police provided no details as to the relationship of the two men or whether they live in the area.
Emergency Medical Services responded to a call at Halelena Place and Kahawai Street.
EMS personnel performed lifesaving treatment for the older man, who received a back wound from a sharp object and mild burns to his extremities from an unknown fluid, according to an EMS report. He was taken by ambulance in serious condition to a hospital.
Police said in a brief report that the suspect “lit the victim on fire,” causing substantial injuries.
The suspect, who is not being named because he has not yet been charged, does not appear to have a criminal record in Hawaii.
The news was disturbing to some Manoa residents.
Norman Wong, a Neighborhood Security Watch coordinator in Manoa, said, “For me it’s very shocking. We had a very good meeting last night.”
It was the first Neighborhood Security Watch program meeting in five years, he said, adding that crime has decreased in the area and “is very low considering what it used to be.”
He said there were only 16 crimes committed in the past four weeks in Manoa, the worst being fraud, but he said, “We cannot control what people do.”
Wong was compiling the crime statistics from the Honolulu Police Department on Thursday and saw the news on television.
The 82-year-old disseminates information to the 46 Neighborhood Security Watch groups in Manoa, which he said he helped grow from just 16 in the past 15 years.
“We like to believe it’s because of the various Neighborhood Security Watch groups, crime has decreased.”
Ellen Watson, a member of the Manoa Neighborhood Board, said upon hearing the news: “It feels terrible, and certainly in the neighborhood where I live and I go out walking my dog.
“We always keep an eye on who everybody is, and we know who the cars should be here and should not be here,” she said. “We really look out for one another here.”
“It’s just kind of a crazy world,” she said. “I don’t know why these things happen to anyone.”
Wong said police tell the community, “All you have to do is know who your neighbor is left, right, back and front. It can reduce crime.”
He said, “They don’t know their neighbors. They don’t talk to their neighbors.”
