Downtown rattled after shooting death

A fatal shooting has residents blaming prostitution for an increase in violence

Kari Vierra says she has become a prisoner in her Kukui Gardens apartment at night, even giving up a two-block walk to Zippy's, because a 24-year-old man was recently shot and killed near Chinatown.

"I can't leave my home at night," said Vierra, 20, a city Summer Fun leader, as she supervised a group of children yesterday playing dodgeball at Beretania Community Park, three blocks from the shooting Saturday night.

"It's kinda freaky. We hear about people getting beaten up, but never a shooting," she said.

Vierra and some residents remain on edge five days after the 24-year-old man, identified as Daniel Truelove, was gunned down near Chinatown just before midnight Saturday.

The shooting occurred on NuuanuAvenue near Kukui Street near residential high-rises occupied by at least 5,000 residents.

Police said the shooting stemmed from an argument between Truelove's brother, a known pimp, and a prostitute who worked for another pimp.

After the argument, the prostitute allegedly told her pimp, the suspect, what had happened. The suspect then allegedly came looking for Truelove's brother and shot at Truelove and his brother four to six times, according to investigators.

Three weeks earlier, another incident involving a prostitute occurred on Kukui Street behind Pali Longs Drug Store, near the shooting scene. A 33-year-old Kalihi man allegedly punched the 19-year-old prostitute multiple times, breaking her jaw after she refused his offer to pay her for sexual favors.

Some residents said prostitution on Kukui Street has worsened in recent months. Kukui Street