Fatal Hawaii cockfight shooting began with an argument

Jacob Borge, 23, and a 16-year-old boy turned themselves in to police after a deadly shooting at a Honolulu cockfight. Photos / AP

A shooting that killed two people and wounded three others in Hawaii last weekend began with an argument at a cockfight attended by 100 to 200 people, according to court documents released.

Probable cause papers detailing one of the most serious shootings in the American state’s history were made public after an initial court appearance for one of the suspects, Jacob Borge.

Borge, 23, and a 16-year-old boy turned themselves in to police. Borge was charged with first- and second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and firearms charges. Bail was set at US$2 million ($3.25m). Petitions were filed against the juvenile for the same charges, police said.

State Public Defender James Tabe, whose office represented Borge at the initial hearing, said it is too early to comment on the case.

Honolulu police were sent to a rural neighbourhood in Waianae after a report of shots fired shortly after midnight Saturday, local time, at a cockfight. When police arrived, attendees were hurrying away from the scene, court documents said.

Deena Thoemmes, the lead homicide investigator for the Honolulu Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division, holds a photo of Jacob Borge. Photo / AP

One of the men who was shot told police that as the cockfight ended, three young males were involved in an argument that turned physical with six male affiliates of a “well-known organiser of chicken fights in the Waianae area”, court papers said.

Commonly known as chicken fights, cockfighting is popular in Hawaii despite being illegal.

Another man who was shot told police he “saw a person holding a gun and begin to shoot at the crowd”, documents said.

One shooting victim told police there were 100 people at the cockfight, while another told police there were 200.

Cathy Rabellizsa-Manners, 59, died from a gunshot wound to the face and Gary Rabellizsa, 34, died from multiple gunshot wounds, documents said.

Rabellizsa-Manners’ husband told police she had tried to break up at the altercation and got into a fistfight with two males who shot at her and Rabellizsa.

Police familiar with Borge, who goes by the street name “Hot Boi Jake”, negotiated with him to turn himself in, documents said.

A preliminary hearing for Borge is scheduled for Monday.

GoFundMe pages were set up for Rabellizsa-Manners and Rabellizsa.

“I will always remember the first time ever hearing my dad cry, it was heartbreaking. I never thought this day will come where I would lose my mom to gun violence,” said the page organised by Keri Rabellizsa.

She also organised the page for Gary Rabellizsa, who is described as a sheet metal fabricator and father of six: “As a result of trying to keep the peace, my husband was fatally shot multiple times.”