14 DAY TRIAL // 20-30 students were involved in a high-school brawl on Thursday, December 6, in Hawaii's Big Island.
According to the Vibe, the fight was motivated by increasing racial tensions at the school. The incident culminated in the arrest of eight students, of whom seven were male, and one was female.
None of the students or faculty was wounded in the process, however some registered with "small bumps and bruises." The students did not resist arrest, and did not cause the officers any injuries.
The Inquisitr writes that this was just the more aggravated of several incidents that occurred at the Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona, last week.
Principal Wilfred Murakami explains "bullying through racial and cultural taunts" brought upon an outburst, as students of Micronesian descent confronted their classmates.
"The result overflowed on the Micronesian side where there was frustration, yelling and screaming — a reaction," he explains to West Hawaii Today.
The eight "unruly" students were charged with disorderly conduct, as juveniles. They were transported to the Kona police department cellblock, the principal states. None of them used weapons during the altercation.
Several fights broke out Wednesday and Thursday, prompting lockdowns. At 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, staff had to handle three separate incidents that happened in locations on campus.
One student who had been mocked the day before started "loud yelling, swearing and screaming," during the high-school's lunch break. She instigated two separate fights in the school’s library, and another in a different location on campus. She, however, did not participate in the brawl.
An investigation is pending, for the school board to decide whether suspensions or expulsions are in order. The brawl led to the 1,600-student school closing down over the weekend.
"Anything here on campus is canceled," Principal Murakami says, announcing that classes are to be resumed on Monday.