HONOLULU (KHON2) — A suspect remains at large after the alleged shooting of a 20-year-old in a Mililani parking lot Friday night.
Honolulu police said the suspect fired a handgun at the woman and then threw what appeared to be a chemical at her.
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Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said the woman was taken to a hospital in serious condition with burns to her body.
The longtime 24 Hour Fitness member was getting ready to leave the gym at 9:27 pm on Friday when a woman ran inside hysterical.
“I was on my way when a woman burst into the gym, she was obviously very frightened and immediately went to hide behind the front desk,” the witness explained. “And what I saw was something covered in some kind of chemical fluid, like a dark-blue color.”
“She was behind the desk and really shocked and hysterical just hiding from someone or something on the outside,” he continued.
The witness said the men grabbed water bottles and started pouring water on her to absorb her moisture because “of course she was burning,” he said.
He said the water help cut off the moisture, “there was a lot in the gym in the gym just everywhere all over the table, there was a lot,” the witness explained.
Police, EMS, and HazMat teams arrived on scene.
The witness said the woman was wearing gym clothes, but he did not know if she was just arriving or leaving the gym.
Police said the suspect fired one shot at a 20-year-old woman and threw a chemical at her before fleeing.
The witness said that he saw some kind of auto-fluid.
Police were on scene Saturday afternoon, but security would not release KHON2 News from the property.
One red car was jammed in the parking lot with cones and dyed material underneath, but it is unknown at this time if it is related to the accident.
“So many things are happening in Mililani recently and whether it’s coincidental or not, it’s still happening, and you can feel it gradually in the neighborhood,” said the witness, who is also a Mililani resident.
It is the fourth violent crime to occur in a typically quiet and safe community in as many months.
In January, a 77-year-old woman was brutally beaten inside her home during a home invasion; In February, a woman was run over by a car in a Mililani parking lot in what police called a “random fight” and in March a woman was found in a burned-out car in a Mililani High School parking lot.
“I won’t be alone here anymore,” said Wahiawa resident Diamond Pewton, who drives her daughter to school through Mililani every day. “Usually you don’t hear this happening, especially in Mililani, you walk around like you’re safe, so it’s very shocking, obviously.”
He said there must be security nearby.
“I don’t know, Hawaii is not the same anymore,” he added.
“I can’t believe this is happening more and more in Mililani,” said Gina Dela Cruz, who owns a nearby 24-hour fitness store. “Our gas station closes at 9 and I worry about my employees now.”
“This used to be a really safe community,” he added.
It is also unknown if the attack on the twenty-year-old outside the 24 Hour Opportunity was random or if the suspect and the victim knew each other.
“If it’s random, it’s even scarier,” said Dela Cruz. “Wherever we go, we just have to be careful outside.”
Mililani Neighborhood Board Chair Danielle Bass is horrified by these charges.
“It’s getting scary here, we’re really worried about our safety here in Mililani, this is four out of four, the four most serious crimes in the Mililani area this year,” he said.
He said he will encourage police to have more stations and a presence in the community at the next board meeting.
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“This is not safe for us, our community has always been the safest place for as long as I’ve lived here, which is my whole life,” he said.
