KAILUA, Hawaii -- A 47-year-old defense attorney killed Tuesday night at a Kailua home was trying to protect a former girlfriend and client, his family said.

Craig Kismel was at a home at 454 Oneawa Street in Kailua at about 9:30 p.m. when the shooting occurred.

Paramedics treated the victim and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Kimsel had been a defense attorney for eight years. His family said it was a client and former girlfriend he was trying to protect at his home.

Police arrested Daniel K. Kahanaoi, 45, at his home in Kahaluu in connection with the slaying.

Kimsel went to the gate to let in workers who were renovating his home. Right behind them was Kahanaoi and that is where the confrontation started, Kismel's relatives said.

Kimsel's family said Kahanoi was looking for Rusty Anoba, who had once dated Kimsel. Anoba was hiding at Kimsel's home after she said she was being abused by Kahanoi.

"My son says, 'You need to get out of here,' and he just shot him, just took his gun and shot him. He fell down and he shot him again in the back," Kismel's mother, Barbara Ankersmith, said.

Kimsel was shot in the head and back at point blank.

Both the victim of the shooting and the woman he was protecting had sought court protection from Kahanaoi.

Anoba told authorities the suspect had a gun, but police said they were not legally able to search for it.

It is an issue that has come up before. A court order bans a suspect from having guns, but he has one anyway. In this case, more than one person saw Kahanaoi with a weapon before the shooting.

Kimsel filed a criminal complaint and requested a temporary restraining order after he said Kahanaoi pulled up to Kimsel's house and punched him in January. Kahanaoi later left vulgar and threatening messages on kimsel's phone, documents showed.

"The restraining order is just a piece of paper and it can't stop a bullet," abuse victims advocate Cindy Spencer said.

Kimsel even installed a home security system.

Anoba filed her restraining order two months later. She wrote that when she told Kahanaoi she wanted to leave, he threw her against a wall by the hair.

She wrote she believed he was responsible for killing her dog and warned the court "I have seen a black gun under the seat of his silver BMW when I drove it."

Kahanaoi denied that to police and did not have any guns registered in his name, sources said. Police did not search his home or car for weapons.

A police spokesman said officers would need a warrant in order to go into someone's home or car looking for guns, and that a person's statement written on a tro would not be enough evidence to get that warrant.

Advocates for abuse victims said it should be enough.

"I believe that if the woman or the victim of the crime is telling them that there is a gun they need to search and find that gun and take that gun away," Spencer said.

Kahanaoi's Waimanalo neighbors said they feel the same way. They said they told police about the gun two weeks ago. They wondered why he still had it.

"I blame the police. I blame anybody. You know, if they took care of this the first time, maybe that guy would still be here today. It's so sad," said one of Kahanaoi's neighbors who did not want to be identified.

Police said criminal complaints against Kahanaoi from Kimsel and the Waimanalo neighbors were still under investigation as of Tuesday night.