Posted on: Sunday, December 29, 2002

Police searching for suspect in Ala Wai slaying

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

Honolulu Police were searching the Mo'ili'ili and McCully areas yesterday for a homeless man they say gunned down another homeless man at the Ala Wai Community Park around 1:30 a.m.

Police said the shooting was the result of an argument between the two over "missing stuff" that occurred in the bleachers next to the park baseball field.

One of the two men pulled out a handgun and shot the other man in the head, police said. The suspect then ran down Kapi'olani Boulevard toward Date Street. The victim, 37, was taken to The Queens Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police were on the lookout for a 36-year-old man, 160 pounds, 5 feet 1, who was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants. Police said they knew the identity of the suspect, although they wouldn't release his name.

Homeless people who frequent the park were reticent to discuss the killing yesterday, although two who said they knew the suspect and victim verified that the killing was the result of an argument.

"We kind of go by nicknames," said one man, age 40, who identified himself as " 'Senior Resident' because I've lived here longer than most." He said he knew the victim as "Oden," whom he described as someone who could be nice, but who was given to violent displays of anger.

Another man, who was sitting on the top row of the bleachers and who identified himself as "Mohammed" said "the shooting happened right there," pointing to a spot mid-way along the row in front of him.

"You can still see some of the blood there. They tried to wash it off, but they didn't do that good a job."

Neither man wanted to discuss the assailant. They both said the park was a relatively safe place to be and said such violence was a rarity.

"Most of the time everyone gets along reasonably well," said the man who called himself Mohammed.