Hawaii County police are asking for witnesses to the shooting involving a Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ranger at Manuka State Wayside Park on July 5.

Kau patrol officers responded to the shooting involving a law enforcement ranger at the park’s Kahuku unit, located off Highway 11 near the 70.5 mile marker.

The ranger reportedly saw a man in a vehicle with a tampered steering wheel, police said. The ranger confirmed it was a stolen vehicle and that police were looking for it.

The vehicle left the area and the ranger left the park to search for it.

When the ranger came across the stolen vehicle at Manuka State Wayside Park, he stopped the vehicle, but the driver failed to exit the vehicle when the ranger asked him to.

The driver allegedly drove in the ranger’s direction. Thinking he would be hit, the ranger fired several shots to stop the vehicle, police said.

The driver, 39-year-old David Gouveia of Kailua-Kona, was found and arrested later that day. He received gunshot wounds from the shooting, police said.

Prosecutors charged Gouveia with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, but police did not charge him with attempted murder pending further investigation.

Witnesses or anyone with information about the shooting are asked to contact Detective Dominic Uyetake at 326-4646, extension 228 or dominic.uyetake@hawaiicounty.gov

Anonymous tips may be made to CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.