Wayne Lepulu was merely carrying out his mother's wishes Saturday night when he walked into an alley near Pua Lane in Kalihi to ask a group of young men to keep the noise down.

Then an argument broke out, one of the young men pulled out a gun and fired three shots in Lepulu's direction, striking the 15-year-old in the right thigh, police and a family member said.

The shooting on Pua Lane, which runs adjacent to the Mayor Wright Homes complex, surprised police and other officials, not only because of the victim's age, but also because the once-dangerous area recently has been relatively free of violent crime.

"It (Pua Lane) used to be the Wild West, we all remember," said Maile Kanemaru, executive director of Hawai'i Weed and Seed, a federal program that addresses issues ranging from drugs, truancy and property crime to business revitalization. Mayor Wright Homes and the surrounding area is a federal Weed and Seed district.

"We empowered the community and taught them the things they need to sustain themselves."

Lepulu, a McKinley High School sophomore, had just returned from McKinley's football game against Leilehua in Mililani Saturday night when he was shot about 11 p.m.

His uncle, Edmund Fetui, visited Lepulu yesterday at The Queen's Medical Center and said he was in good spirits. Lepulu remained in good condition at the hospital last night.

Lepulu recently had returned to Hawai'i after a year in Alaska and was planning on playing football for McKinley in 2007.

His uncle said the family was shocked to see erroneous media reports that Lepulu, who has a brother and sister, had been shot in the stomach.

Fetui said his sister, Lepulu's mother, and their family are coping with the shooting and are thankful he was not seriously injured.

"They're trying to deal with it," he said.

GUNMAN AT LARGE

Police said a group of young men was walking through the housing area at about 11 p.m. Saturday making a lot of noise. Lepulu's mother asked him to go outside and tell the boys to keep the noise down, police said.

After the shooting, the men fled and were still at large yesterday, although police said they have identified several suspects, including the gunman. Police have classified the case as an attempted murder.

Residents along Pua Lane declined to comment about Saturday's shooting yesterday.

The shooting on a lane once notorious for drug dealing and violence was met with surprise by law enforcement officials and community activists who say the area is miscast as a haven for hoodlums and violent behavior.

"We haven't had something like that (Saturday's shooting) happen in quite some time," said Honolulu Police Maj. Kurt Kendro, commander of the department's District 5 (Kalihi) operations. "Mayor Wright gets a bad rap as a place of high criminality when in reality it has really turned around in recent years. I was shocked to learn we had a shooting there."

LAST SHOOTING IN 2004

The last time anyone was shot in Mayor Wright Homes was in June 2004, when 32-year-old Gordon Morse, a fugitive, was killed in a shootout with police.

Part of what has helped tone down violent crime in the complex is the area's designation as a federal Weed and Seed site.

In the late 1990s, it became the state's first Weed and Seed site because of its high crime rate. The program, which attempts to "weed" out criminal elements and "seed" community involvement and pride, got good reviews from residents. Police officers stationed at the housing project initiated drug stings and worked on community service projects with residents.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, under Weed and Seed, all sectors of a community come together to voice their concerns, set priorities and create solutions.

DECLINE IN CRIME

First designated a Weed and Seed district in 1998, the Kalihi/Palama/Chinatown area saw a 70 percent drop in crime, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

However, police statistics show crime around Mayor Wright has increased slightly over the past few years. Police officers say they are responding to more gang-related disturbances at the housing complex and adjacent Pua Lane.

In 2005, police were called to Mayor Wright and its surrounding two blocks 158 times for "nuisance" calls, which include public drinking, arguing and loitering.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.