The Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific in Wahiawa, Hawaii, is pictured on April 16, 2016. (Denise Baumeister/U.S. Navy)
The shooting death of a 23-year-old man on Navy property on Oahu this month has been declared a homicide by the Honolulu County Department of the Medical Examiner.
DeVaughn “Deezo” Wright Pita died from a gunshot wound of the chest, the medical examiner department said in an email Monday.
A soldier assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Sustainment Brigade is in custody in connection with the shooting that occurred Aug. 9 in the housing section at the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific in Wahiawa. The soldier has not been identified.
Pita died at an area medical center from his wounds.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the shooting.
Homicide is defined as one person causing the death of another, according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Not all homicides are murders, and some homicides may be considered lawful, such as in the case of self-defense.
The Navy regards the installation in central Oahu an annex to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, which lies about 20 miles to the south.
Cecilia Pita, the victim’s mother, told Hawaii News Now last week that her son had traveled to the Navy installation after receiving a call from his ex-girlfriend with an urgent request to assist her in moving her and her 4-year-old son out of their home “to escape an abusive husband.”
“He was trying to protect her from him beating her, or, according to her, that she gets beatings,” Cecilia Pita told the news outlet.
“DeVaughn came out of the car, I guess trying to protect her, and the guy pulled the gun and told DeVaughn, ‘I’m not scared to use it,’ and shot my son,” she said.
DeVaughn Pita was five days away from his 24th birthday, she said.
She did not respond to a Messenger interview request from Stars and Stripes.
An account on gofundme.com as of Monday had raised $2,215 to help pay for DeVaughn Pita’s funeral.
“He was a loving father, son, brother, cousin, and friend,” Diamond Pita, the fundraiser’s organizer, posted on the site.
It is unclear what relationship the organizer, who did not respond to requests for an interview, has with DeVaughn Pita.
Pita “was truly one of a kind — smart in every way, quick with a joke, an incredible athlete, and someone whose energy could light up any room,” the post reads.
