HAWAII KAI, Hawaii (KHON2) -- A visually-impaired runner is still putting one foot in front of the other after being shot at while training for the Honolulu Marathon.
The suspects apparently used an air soft gun to target her and her running guide.
Marri Murdoch has been visually-impaired since she suffered a stroke in 2017. Mike Canteros has been her running guide for the past few weeks in preparation for the Honolulu Marathon in December.
"So, for my longer runs, it's definitely super, super helpful to have Mike there by my side getting through the long distance, like yesterday we did 14 and a half miles," Murdoch said.
Canteros is used to calling out street curbs and low-hanging branches for Marri, but just after 5 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, a dark sedan pulled alongside their run along Hawaii Kai Drive.
"All I heard was the airsoft gunshots and in a fraction of a second, it hit both of us, and I knew from that because I play airsoft and I just saw both, one driver and one passenger, passenger was shooting," Canteros said.
Murdoch and Canteros were both struck, Murdoch in her abdomen and Canteros in his shoulder.
"I thought something fell from the tree. I'm like, 'What happened?' He's like, 'We were shot at.' Like, 'what? Oh my gosh, okay,' she said.
Honolulu police confirmed another similar incident was reported to authorities in the same area that same Sunday morning, but Marri and Mike did not report what happened to them until a few days later.
"They said, you know, 'Don't be afraid to call immediately next time,' they said, 'We understand you're in the moment and you might be scared or whatever.' But he said, 'The quicker you call, the better because then we have a better chance at catching them," Murdoch said.
Despite the unsettling morning, Murdoch said it did not slow down her training and Mike is thankful the incident did not result in him needing a running guide as well.
"We was like a little freaked out, cause if that hit my eyes, we both would be going blind," Canteros said as he and Murdoch laughed.
KHON2 asked why the incident has not slowed Murdoch down.
"Well, because I'm determined to cross that finish line this year. Last year, I made it up to 19 miles and got setback with an injury right before a month before the race. But I think it was meant to be just because now I have a guy that's going to get me through that finish line," she said.
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HPD said no one has been arrested in connection to either incident that occurred on Oct. 6, anyone with information is asked to call 911 or CrimeStoppers.