THE AIEA SHOOTING

Aiea drive-by incident fabricated, police say

Teens playing with a gun are suspected of causing a critical injury in a parking lot

The 16-year-old boy whom friends called "Malu" frequently hung out at an Aiea computer center.

He was in intensive care yesterday with a gunshot wound to the chest from what police described as an accidental shooting that happened minutes after he left the center.

"He comes here almost every day after school and sometimes at night," said Kitty Saludares, owner of Cyber Chat Cafe in Aiea Town Square, an Internet cafe targeted at teenagers. "We opened this store hoping to get them off the roads and be safe."

Police said two boys were playing with a gun when it accidentally discharged, injuring the victim about 10:40 p.m.

Last night, police arrested a 16-year-old Aiea boy who is reportedly a friend of the shooting victim, on suspicion of weapons violations. Other charges are pending.

During their investigation, police learned the shooter allegedly had made up a story about a drive-by shooting, describing the car, and called 911 apparently to cover up the accidental shooting, police said.

They did not release any other information on the victim. However, friends said he is an Aiea High School student. The principal declined yesterday to confirm or deny that.

Earlier in the night, the boy was in Cyber Chat Cafe with some friends, including a teenage girl, Saludares said. In the cafe, which opened six months ago, friends can challenge each other in computer games, log on to the Internet and buy food at the snack bar.

At 9:58 p.m., according to surveillance video footage in the cafe, workers mopped the floor and prepared to close the cafe. Malu, wearing a black T-shirt and a cross on a necklace, bought two packaged cheese sticks.

He opened the door for a girl and they left.

Police Lt. Gary Lahens said three teen boys and a 15-year-old girl were talking and hanging out in front of a stone wall in the parking lot of the nearby Aiea Public Library. One of the boys left, and the girl went back to the cafe to buy more cheese sticks, Saludares said. Malu was shot with a large-caliber gun, said CrimeStoppers coordinator Kim Buffett, but she had no other details on the weapon.

The teen was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, but worsened to critical by yesterday morning. Police said the victim was upgraded to guarded condition from critical. He is expected to recover, Buffett said.

"Every time I saw him, he's always been real quiet and shy," Saludares said. "He never did cause any trouble."

The cafe is about a minute's walk from the Aiea library, 99-143 Moanalua Road. The library has its own small parking lot that connects to the rest of the Town Square.

Malu went in and out of the cafe that night beginning about 8:30 p.m., Saludares said.

John Petriches was working late in his upstairs office on the other end of the Town Square when he heard the boom.

"One gunshot, very loud," Petriches said. "You could definitely tell it was a big weapon."

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