Hawi man indicted in North Kohala shooting, attempted murder case

A Hawi man is facing attempted murder charges after prosecutors say a dating relationship turned into a months-long pattern of threats, abuse and a North Kohala shooting. William Tai Seu Wong, 66, was indicted by a Kona grand jury on April 6 on second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault, first-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of abuse of a family or household member. He was arrested April 8 on a grand jury bench warrant, pleaded not guilty in Kona’s Third Circuit Court on April 13 and was released after posting $100,000 bail under no-contact conditions.

Police say the case grew out of a report filed Dec. 9, 2024, by a 47-year-old woman who had been in a dating relationship with Wong. Investigators say the alleged abuse happened at a North Kohala residence between April 26, 2023, and Nov. 8, 2024, and that Wong threatened her, physically abused her and shot her in the left arm and back area with a firearm. That timeline matters: the allegations span more than a year and a half before the case reached a grand jury, underscoring how domestic abuse can build over time before it becomes a felony prosecution.

The charges place Wong in one of Hawaiʻi’s most serious criminal categories. State sentencing law treats murder and attempted murder separately from the standard felony classes, and the case is now set for a jury trial on Aug. 4, 2026. Before that, the court will hear a state motion on June 15 to decide whether Wong’s statements were voluntary, a key issue that can shape what evidence jurors hear at trial.

For victims on Hawaiʻi Island, help is available before violence escalates. The Hawaiʻi Police Department directs people in immediate danger to call 911, and its domestic violence services page points to Hale ʻOhana’s 24-hour crisis line and Hawaiʻi island safe shelters that provide food, clothing and a confidential place to stay. Hawaiʻi County’s East Hawaiʻi Domestic Violence Shelter is in a confidential Hilo location at (808) 959-8864, and Child & Family Service’s West Hawaiʻi shelter hotline is (808) 322-7233. The county prosecutor’s Victim Witness Program says victims should speak with a counselor as early as possible after an arrest, and the statewide domestic violence legal hotline is 531-3771. Advocates say families should watch for early red flags such as jealousy, isolation from friends and family, control of money, intimidation with weapons and threats to children or pets, even if those behaviors start small.