'AIEA — A 61-year-old Pearl City man today shot and killed a woman, 44, before shooting himself at a convenience store in 'Aiea in what homicide investigators have tentatively classified as Honolulu's fifth murder-suicide of the year.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's office will perform an autopsy tomorrow to determie cause and manner of death. The woman was co-owner of Bobo's Mini Mart at 98-064 Kamehameha Hwy. and the man a family friend who worked at the store, police said.

The shootings occurred before 9:40 a.m., police csaid.

Maj. Dave Kajihiro, commanderr of the Pearl City police patrol district, said the bodies

were found by a customer. A gun was found next to the man, who was lying in a pool of blood in front of the counter.

The woman was found behind the counter, police said.

The medical examiner is not releasing names until identities are confirmed.

Bobo's Mini Mart is owned by JYC Incorporated and the officers of the corporation are Judy and Stanley Shimamoto, husband and wife.

Customers of Bobo's Mini Mart, who gathered outside the store while police investigated inside, were stunned to learn of the shooting deaths.

"I saw her nearly every day," said Gabe Edrado, an 'Aiea resident, referring to Judy Shimamoto. "She was a great lady. Always called her 'Mama.'

"We'd talk about everything. She had one kid at college on the mainland and one who just graduated from 'Aiea ... I can't believe someone would do this."

Kim Krueger said she lives just up the block from Bobo's and that whenever she frequented the store, "Judy" was always there.

"She was so sweet," Krueger said. "I can't believe anyone would do this to her."

Bobo's is the corner store of a small strip mall that houses Aiea Cue pool hall on the second floor and Colleen's Hair & Toes on next to Bobo's.

Kisun Kim, who works at Colleen's, said Shimamoto usually had two small dogs with her while she worked. "She was a very nice lady," Kim said. "Why would something like this happen?"

This is the second time this year police have been called to Choi's Strip Mall for a major felony.

At 2:15 a.m. on April 3, three men with crowbars barged into Aiea Cue, ordered four employees to lie face down, and used a blowtorch to break into an ATM and change machine. The three men fled with $1,000 in coins and $175 cash taken from the cash register, an undisclosed amount from the ATM and change machine, a laptop computer, a PlayStation video game player and games and an iPod.

Three suspects were later arrested and indicted by a grand jury on felony charges in May.