Kapolei residents rethinking notion of idyllic neighborhood
| • | Police officer killed in struggle with fugitive |
| • | Slain officer 'loved his job' |
| • | Suspect's criminal record includes 14 convictions |
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
KAPOLEI — The Kapolei Shopping Center, with its Jeans Warehouse, Dunkin' Donuts, Safeway and Longs, is a hub of activity and an after-school magnet for students from nearby Kapolei High School.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Yesterday, it became the scene of a growing suburb's first brush with deadly, public violence.
Police are investigating the shooting death of an officer yesterday in the Baskin-Robbins store in Kapolei.
Residents were stunned that a shooting could occur in their neighborhood, in a Baskin-Robbins they frequent, in an area they've known as safe and family friendly.
At the shopping center off Farrington Highway, 40-year-old Glen Gaspar became the first Honolulu Police Department officer shot to death in the line of duty in 16 years.
The incident shocked residents who couldn't believe that kind of violence could happen so close to home.
"You think this couldn't happen in your neighborhood, but crime doesn't choose its location," said longtime resident Sonya Mendez, a professional singer. "It's disturbing because nobody ever wants to believe someone could be murdered in your own back yard."
Kapolei prides itself as being a family-oriented neighborhood, removed from the troubles that plague some other O'ahu communities. But with the rapid growth of the area, which now is home to more than 17,000 people, the Central O'ahu suburb has become a city, complete with the corresponding benefits and problems.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"We have more of everything, that's the good and bad of growing," said Maeda Timson, a longtime resident and member of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board. "We've always wanted to be a big city. I guess this is part of it. We're just not accustomed to this. I'm appalled."
Kapolai residents were shocked to learn about yesterday's shooting death of a police officer in Kapolei Shopping Center's Baskin-Robbins store.
Joe Basque moved back to O'ahu from Las Vegas, settling in Kapolei six months ago. His car was stolen in December and after yesterday he said he's ready to move back to the Windward side, where he feels the community is safer.
"This was the reason I left Vegas," said Basque, 44, a carpenter who lives on Makakilo Drive. "I saw this there and it was getting too close to me. I have a bitter taste in my mouth now."
Fortunately, the shooting happened before the end of the school day. The Baskin-Robbins, Basque said, is a popular after-school stop for students. "It was lucky it happened when it did," he said.
"When I heard about (the shooting) I felt like I was back in New York City," said 41-year-old Victor Ferrer, a retired Marine who has been living in Kapolei for seven years. "Kapolei is now the wild, wild West."
Some Kapolei High School students who arrived at the shopping center an hour after the shooting were shocked to hear what had happened.
"I'm scared," said 16-year-old Maylene Agnes, a sophomore at Kapolei High, who wanted to shop at Jeans Warehouse, which was closed because of the shooting. "You just don't know what's going to happen."
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
