NORTH SHORE, Hawaii -- Honolulu police are looking for the gunman who shot and killed a 31-year-old man in his own Sunset Beach yard in front of his wife and child late on Saturday night.

Dillon Ching died of gunshot wounds after a confrontation with a group of people partying at the beach across the street, police said.

Billy Ching is struggling to come to terms with his son's death.

"My son was a loving person. He loves his family," Billy Ching said.

"He was a wonderful husband. He was an unreal father," Dillon Ching's sister-in-law, Melissa Dabin, said.

Dozens of beer bottles remained at the scene on Sunday as police scoured the area and the Chings' yard for evidence.

Ching's family sat in their garage, stunned about what happened just as they were going to bed.

"I heard gunshots -- and it was a lot of gunshots. All you heard was 'Pa, pa, pa, pa,'" Dabin said.

Ching's sister-in-law and his father rushed downstairs and took cover, she said.

"All you could see was smoke and dust in the middle part of the road and people yelling and screaming," Dabin said.

Seconds later, they learned Dillon was hit. He was with his wife and 3-year-old son.

"He was handing over his son to his wife, and that's when he got shot," Dabin said. "He was protecting his family."

"He leaned over to his wife because he was shot, and then they carried him to safety," she said.

"They tried to keep him alive, tried to talk to him, telling him breathe -- talk to us," Dabin said. "He was just saying that he had a hard time breathing. He had a really hard time."

Ching died on the way to the hospital.

There more than 20 people partying at the beach, most of them from Wahiawa, police said.

It is unclear why Ching was shot.

"I lived here for 30-something years, and it was safe. It's not safe anymore," Billy Ching said.

Dillon's family said his wife is providing police with a description of the gunman and others involved.