Police arrested a trio of teen boys as part of a vicious attack on a California family at a luxury Maui resort that the victims say was motivated by race.
The violent brawl broke out around 10 p.m. on July 17 at the Kaanapali Alii resort in West Maui, where local officers responded to a disturbance involving roughly 30 people near the property’s pool that left at least one victim with a bloody head wound.
Seven visitors from California, ranging in age from 17 to 62, told police they were assaulted after a group of young people allegedly threw chairs and attacked members of their family, labeling them “haole boys.”
The family believes they were singled out because they are white and urged investigators to pursue the case as a hate crime.
Police arrested four people total in the attack, which has not been classified as a hate crime.
On Monday, Maui police arrested a 14-year-old Lahaina boy on suspicion of riot and assault in the second degree, a 16-year-old Wailuku boy on suspicion of riot and assault in the second degree; and a 16-year-old Lahaina boy on suspicion of riot.
All three had been released from custody during the ongoing investigation.
The latest collars came after the earlier arrest of a 20-year-old Makawao man on suspicion of assault in the second degree. That suspect was later released pending investigation.
At least six victims suffered injuries in the attack that were serious enough to require medical treatment.
Family member Joseph Headfield said the violence was preceded by racial threats from a woman he described as the group’s “ringleader.”
“There were three females, one of which was the ringleader,” Headfield told Hawaii News Now. “She got up in people’s faces, said, ‘We’re going to beat up your boys tonight. We’re going to beat up the haole boys.’”
“Haole” is a Hawaiian term for a person who is not of Native Hawaiian or Polynesian descent and is commonly used to describe white people or non-locals.
Maui Police Department spokeswoman Alana Pico said the investigation remains ongoing as officials continue to gather and review information.
“If the investigation finds evidence that this incident was motivated by bias, including racial bias, or involved gang-related criminal activity, those offenses will be charged as appropriate,” Pico said.
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