A California family’s Hawaiian getaway turned to horror when they were targeted as ‘haole boys’ and viciously beaten by a mob at a luxury Maui resort, leaving one with a huge head wound.
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.
The violent brawl broke out around 10 p.m. on Friday, July 17. Sam Paradis
The violence was preceded by racial threats. Instagram/Keppmauisafeforall
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.
At least six victims suffered injuries serious enough to require medical treatment.
A luxury Maui resort.
By the time officers arrived, only 10 to 15 people remained at the scene, several with visible injuries, according to the Maui Police Department.
The family, who has not been named, believes they were singled out because they are white and is urging investigators to pursue the case as a hate crime.
10 to 15 people remained at the scene.
Police have not classified the assault as a hate crime.
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.
Headfield said the attack quickly spiraled, with members of the group allegedly using patio furniture as weapons. “The kids were beating people with the chairs.”
The average cost to stay at Kaanapali Alii is approximately $831 per night.
One of the family’s relatives was struck in the head with a chair while trying to protect other family members and later needed 13 staples to close the wound.
Relatives told HNN the confrontation was the culmination of an evening of escalating tensions, alleging a group of Maui youths had been harassing visitors earlier near Whalers Village before the violence erupted at the resort.
Police arrested a 20-year-old Makawao man on suspicion of assault. He was later released as detectives continued their investigation, leaving him free to go about his business.
“We recognize the significant impact this incident has had on those involved and remain committed to conducting a thorough, fair, and impartial investigation,” MPD spokesperson Alana Pico told SFGATE.
“Detectives have contacted and interviewed the involved parties, and the investigation continues as additional information is gathered and reviewed.”The oceanfront Kaanapali Alii, known for its luxury condominium rentals, said it is cooperating with investigators.
“The safety and well-being of our guests, residents, and team members remains our highest priority,” Steven Rose, managing director for the CoralTree Residence Collection, which owns the resort, told SFGATE. “We take incidents of this nature very seriously and are focused on supporting those impacted.”
