A couple’s house-hunting drive through the Hawaiian Acres subdivision in Puna on Tuesday turned into a frightening experience after a gunshot shattered their minivan’s window as their four young children were asleep in the vehicle.
Irenio and Deena Mateo of Volcano said they were still shaken Wednesday, a day after the incident on Road 10.
"My husband and I are still a bit twitchy," said Deena Mateo.
Police arrested two men in connection with the shooting on suspicion of first-degree reckless endangerment. One of the two suspects, a 68-year-old Hilo man, remained in custody Wednesday. The other suspect, a 47-year-old Kurtistown man, was released Tuesday night pending further investigation.
The Mateos and the suspects are not acquainted.
Lt. Greg Esteban of the Hawaii County Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Section Area I said the family is fortunate to be unharmed.
"It could’ve turned out way bad," he said.
The family moved to Volcano from Pearl City last year after Irenio Mateo retired from the Hawaii Air National Guard. Since moving to Volcano, the couple has been looking to buy a home near Hilo. They were driving in Puna searching for a listed house they were interested in.
At about 1:34 p.m. Tuesday, Irenio Mateo was driving a 2002 Ford Windstar with his wife and four children, ages 11 months to 7 years, when they heard a gunshot and the window of the passenger door shattered.
The single shot produced "several projectiles," Irenio Mateo said. Nothing penetrated the van’s sliding passenger door, Mateo said, although eight to 10 indentations were made in the door.
When the glass shattered, Deena Mateo yelled at her husband, "Go! Go!" He sped over large potholes in the rugged, unpaved roadway as she checked on the children.
"I drove like ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’" Irenio Mateo said.
The Mateos stopped at a community center and called 911. Patrol officers immediately responded, canvassed the area and arrested the two men. They also took the minivan for evidence.
It was unclear whether the bullet was recovered, and the type of firearm used is under investigation.
The Mateos said they are grateful their family was unharmed.
"The window can be replaced but not the people," Irenio Mateo said.
The minivan was the only vehicle on the road at the time of the shooting.
Police described the Hawaiian Acres subdivision as a lush rural subdivision with narrow dirt roads. Gunshots are commonly heard in the Puna area because of pig hunting, but police said a bullet striking a vehicle is an uncommon occurrence in Hawaiian Acres.
The Mateos’ three older children, ages 12 to 17, were not with them when the shooting occurred. They said they still consider the subdivision to be a safe area.
Hawaii County police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call Detective Wendell Carter at 961-2378, email wcarter@co.hawaii.hi.us or call CrimeStoppers at 329-8181.
