The mother of Daniel Browne-Sanchez, the first state deputy sheriff to be shot and killed, said yesterday her only son had aspirations to work as a federal agent in Washington, D.C., and to defend the lives of others.

"I think he always wanted to help people, wanted to defend people," said Browne-Sanchez's mother, Robina Browne, who flew to Honolulu Saturday from Hilo. "He had many dreams, many aspirations that were fulfilled with the department. But he wanted to go further."

Browne-Sanchez, 27, was off-duty early Saturday morning when he tried to subdue an armed robber who entered the Osake Sushi Bar and Lounge on Kapi'olani Boulevard.

Browne-Sanchez was shot three times with a .22 caliber pistol by the 33-year-old masked gunman, police said.

The gunman, who police said entered through a kitchen door, apparently ordered cooks into the lounge area, where other employees had gathered.

He ordered everyone to get down on the floor and fired three to four rounds into the roof and wall, Honolulu Police Department homicide Detective Bill Kato told reporters at the scene.

Browne-Sanchez, who was working part-time at the lounge as a bartender's assistant, was shot in the chest, neck and shoulder after he and other employees jumped the gunman in an attempt to subdue him.

Sheriff's Department officers are trained to disarm suspects, state Department of Public Safety interim director Iwalani White said at a news conference yesterday.

Fellow officers, wearing black bands over their badges, also gathered at the news conference to share memories of one of the youngest sheriff's deputies in the department.

"It doesn't surprise me, hearing what happened, that Dan would act the way he did and protect others before himself," said Deputy Andre Jackson, who worked with Browne-Sanchez on the District Court patrol.

"He was always concerned with other people before himself."

Browne-Sanchez spent five years with the state's Sheriff's Department and earned a reputation of being likeable and trustworthy, his colleagues said.

Nearly 100 people held a vigil Saturday at The Queen's Medical Center, where Browne-Sanchez died about 5:40 p.m.

"When I went to Queen's hospital, I couldn't believe how many lives Dan actually touched. It was mind-blowing how many people were there," said Deputy Charles Among, who entered the state Sheriff's Department at the same time as Browne-Sanchez.

Among recalled how Browne-Sanchez brought home "top gun" from a federal sniper training certification in Boise, Idaho.

"He was the best sniper we had in the department," Among said.

Browne-Sanchez's mother said her son was working at the lounge partly for extra income but mostly because he had friends there.

"He was such a social guy. ... He enjoyed being there," Browne said.

Browne-Sanchez was born in Washington state. His family was well-traveled. He and his family moved to Honolulu from Central America when he was 10 years old. He was fluent in Spanish and also spoke a little Japanese.

"He had a gift for music and language," Browne said, adding that her son played both the saxophone and electric guitar.

Browne said her son always had a strong work ethic, delivering newspapers as a child and always aspiring to achieve.

The shooting was reported to police about 3 a.m. Saturday. Kato said other employees at the lounge managed to hold down the suspect until police arrived.

Video of the suspect showed him being led away from the lounge with a bloody, bruised face.

The suspect, who was wearing a military flak jacket under his shirt, was booked initially on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery, police said.

He was still hospitalized last night and had not been charged, police said.

A records check by The Advertiser showed that the man has a record of multiple arrests, including five felony drug-related convictions dating back to 1994.

Memorial arrangements are still being considered, said Department of Public Safety officials.

"We've had deaths among the sheriffs from illness, from accident. ... But this is the first Hawai'i deputy sheriff murdered," White said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.