HALE'IWA — Police are looking for suspects who fired five shots into the 76 Mid Pac Petroleum gas station early yesterday morning.

Police said they recovered shotgun shells and were told by witnesses that a dark-colored compact truck was spotted leaving the station after the shots were fired at about 3 a.m.

Gasoline station manager Kim Kuewa said the incident took place when the business was closed. Five shots were fired, Kuewa said. Two went through the window and struck a refrigerator and the wall, and three struck a refrigerated cooler outside that is used to display and hold 12-pack drinks.

She did not know how much it would cost to repair the damages.

"According to the cops, it's a 12-gauge slug," Kuewa said after the station opened yesterday. Neighbors across the street reported the incident to her after she arrived, she said.

They said the truck pulled in, the weapon went off and the suspects drove off in the direction of Anahulu Bridge, Kuewa said.

"I think it's just a random thing, maybe kids or whatever, just bored," she said, adding that she's grateful that no employees were on duty. The station is open from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

In the past two months high-profile crimes have put the North Shore in the news, making residents uneasy about their normally quiet neighborhoods.

On April 12, a 21-year-old Japanese tourist went missing from Pupukea where she was visiting friends, and by the end of the month, police charged Kirk Lankford, 22, of Kalihi with her death. On May 14, three men involved in the shooting death of another man in Kane'ohe were the subject of a manhunt in Hale'iwa. Two of the men were captured on the North Shore. Then on May 19, a Sunset Beach resident was shot and killed while trying to break up a fight.

Kuewa said in all the years she's worked at the gas station, there's never been a problem like this latest shooting. The neighborhood is usually quiet, she said.

"It's kind of scary because the North Shore has been on the news for a couple of weeks," Kuewa said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.