Gun recovered from Maui shooting, driver identified

By Wendy Osher

Maui police have released the name of the man who was driving the pickup truck that allegedly struck an officer early Sunday morning.  Maui police say 19-year-old Austin Pierman of Kihei was the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident.  He was arrested for suspicion of attempted murder I and transported to the Wailuku Police Station, but later released pending further investigation.

Officers initially responded to a report at 4:14 a.m. of multiple gun shots fired at an area known as Windmill Beach.  Maui Police say attempts were made to stop the suspect vehicle, but it accelerated toward the officers striking one of them.  The officer was treated and released for minor injuries.  Assisting officers fired shots at the truck and pursued the vehicle before it stopped at the Honolua Bay Lookout.

Pierman was one of five occupants within the vehicle, and one of three that were treated for gunshot wounds following the incident.  Authorities recovered a projectile that was removed from behind Pierman’s left ear.  They also recovered a firearm from the scene of the incident.

The most serious injuries were sustained by an 18-year-old Kihei man who was treated for two gunshot wounds—one of which severed an artery in the man’s right shoulder. The man also sustained lacerations to his head and his arm.  He was last listed in stable condition at Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu and is expected to be released in a few days.

A third teen, identified as a 17-year-old Kihei male, sustained a single gunshot wound to his left buttocks and was treated and released yesterday from Maui Memorial Medical Center at around 3:50 Sunday afternoon.

The incident is being handled by the Maui Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and has been classified as an attempted murder investigation.