A North Shore family who lost a husband, son and father to a fatal shooting over the weekend said they are relieved that an arrest has been made in the case.

Charges could be filed today against Dustin Kamaki Jimenez, 21, who was arrested at 12:25 p.m. yesterday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Dillon Ching, 30.

Ching was shot while trying to break up a fight outside the family home on Saturday.

Jimenez was arrested without incident at his 'Ohai Place residence, police said.

"I'm glad they got him because we have so many old friends, and I was worried they were going to get to the shooter first," Ching's father, William Ching, said after the arrest. He added, "Now I can rest knowing my friends won't get into trouble, and we can start healing and get on with our lives."

William Ching said the hardest part is hearing his 2 1/2-year-old grandson, Isaiah, ask where his daddy is.

Dillon Ching was pronounced dead at 1:08 a.m. Sunday in the Wahiawa General Hospital emergency room after being shot twice in the back late Saturday in front of his Sunset Beach home at 59-524 Kamehameha Highway.

Ching, his wife, Desiree, and Isaiah had returned from visiting Desiree's family in Wahiawa when they found themselves in the midst of a brawl.

The medical examiner determined Ching died of an injury to the lung due to a gunshot wound to the upper chest.

The brawl involved six or seven people — including Ching's eldest brother, Billy Jack "B.J." Ching — who were partying in a patio area fronting the street, and a group of more than 40 people who were at an open area called Log Cabins across Kamehameha Highway.

William Ching yesterday described the altercation that led to the shooting as a "Wahiawa versus North Shore ongoing thing" and does not believe his family was targeted.

"(The fight) started with one guy from the group at our house and one from them," Ching said. "This kind of thing usually happens at parks, not at a house. I think the arrest will ease some tension; my hope is it stops."

The 5-foot-4, 140-pound Jimenez has three prior convictions for minor offenses, according to Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center records.

He was convicted of petty misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and driving without a license in September 2005 and August 2006, respectively, and of misdemeanor first-degree criminal property damage in September 2005.

News of Jimenez's arrest surprised his night-shift supervisor at Maui Mike's Fire-Roasted Chicken restaurant in Wahiawa, where he has been employed as a dishwasher for two months. "I'm little bit shocked. ... I wondered what kind trouble he in," said Reagan Davis, the shift supervisor at Mike's.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com and Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.