(BIVN) – A reported shooting incident at a parking lot near Hilo’s Lili‘uokalani Gardens early Saturday morning led to the arrest of a Puna man during a traffic stop on Haihai Street later that day.

From the Hawaiʻi Police Department:

Hawai‘i Island police arrested and charged a Puna man with numerous firearm and drug offenses following a shooting incident at a public parking lot in Hilo, in the early morning hours of Saturday, December 9, 2023.

At 1:58 a.m. on Saturday, Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of multiple gunshots at a parking lot commonly referred to as “Isles” off of Lihiwai Street, near Lili‘uokalani Gardens in Hilo.

Responding officers identified the suspect as 21-year-old Ariitea Lucas-Waters of Pāhoa, who witnesses reported had discharged a semi-automatic pistol over a large crowd of people after two other males were involved in a verbal altercation.

After discharging the firearm, Lucas-Waters was observed fleeing the scene driving a silver Toyota Tacoma, which was also occupied by another man and a woman. Conducting extensive checks in Hilo, officers located Lucas-Waters a short time later driving the pickup truck on Haihai Street and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in the area of the Hilo Municipal Golf Course.

Upon contacting Lucas-Waters and his two passengers, 18-year-old Kahiau Reilly of Kealakekua and 18-year-old Kawehileimaileokalani Tam-Porter of Pāhoa, all three were arrested for reckless endangering and transported to the East Hawai’i Detention Facility where they were booked, processed, and held for continued investigation.

The pickup truck was recovered and towed to the Hilo Police Station pending the execution of a search warrant.

Later that same day, detectives with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section executed a search warrant on the vehicle, resulting in the recovery of a loaded functioning semi-automatic pistol with no serial number also known as a “ghost gun”, live ammunition, spent ammunition casings, eight grams of cocaine, small unused zip-type packets, a digital scale, and more than $850 in U.S. currency.

Police say Reilly and Tam-Porter were released, pending additional investigation, while detectives charged Lucas-Waters with the following offenses:

• First-degree reckless endangering
• Carrying or possessing a loaded firearm: public highways
• Place to keep: pistols or revolvers
• (2 counts) Place to keep: ammunition
• Manufacturing, purchasing, or obtaining firearm parts to assemble a firearm having no serial number
• Place to keep: loaded firearm not pistols/revolvers
• Possession of firearm in commission of felony drug offense
• Third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
• Second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug

Police ask anyone who may have information regarding this incident to contact Detective Kimo Keliipaakaua of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2375, or via email at kimo.keliipaakaua@hawaiicounty.gov.