Police ID Kona shooting victim

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Carpenter
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Big Island police Monday identified the 61-year-old Kailua-Kona man fatally shot Saturday afternoon at a Kealakekua home.

The victim was identified as Frank Damiano, according to the Hawaii Police Department. An autopsy is being scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

At about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a report of a shooting at a residence on Mamalahoa Highway in Kealakekua. There, officers found Damiano deceased.

Officers determined that the victim, who was an acquaintance of the suspect, 79-year-old Donald Carpenter of Kealakekua, had entered Carpenter’s residence when an argument ensued and the victim was shot, police said. Carpenter turned over the firearm involved to detectives at the scene.

Carpenter was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder at the scene and taken to the Kealakehe Police Station. On Sunday, after conferring with the Prosecutor’s Office, Carpenter was released pending investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this incident should call Detective Tyler Prokopec of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 326-4646, ext. 224, or email at tyler.prokopec@hawaiicounty.gov.