Police were called to Hilo High School this afternoon to quell a large affray between students. ADVERTISING Police were called to Hilo High School this afternoon to quell a large affray between students. State Department of Education spokesman Alex Da
Police were called to Hilo High School this afternoon to quell a large affray between students.
State Department of Education spokesman Alex Da Silva said that the fight started at about 1:20 p.m., just as school was letting out for the day. He said the melee involved “20 to 30 students.”
A police spokeswoman said three boys were arrested but none had been charged at press time. All were to be released to parents or guardians. No adults were arrested, she said.
“HPD was called at the time to help control the situation and they arrived on campus about five minutes later. At about 1:50 p.m., it was brought under control,” Da Silva said. Da Silva said that Hilo High School Principal Robert Dircks told him “the fight spilled over out into the street and the surrounding area.”
Da Silva said there were minor injuries both to students involved in the conflict and to campus security personnel.
“We haven’t determined what was the underlying motive of this fight,” he said. Some of the security officers are gathering facts, writing down what they saw, what they heard. Monday , the principal will do an assessment.”
Two students, both of whom spoke anonymously, said the fight was between local and Micronesian students.
“It broke out between two groups of students, then others rushed in and joined it,” one of the students said.
“The fight started at school, and then the bell rang, and then a whole group of people just went down to Hilo Terrace (apartments) and they started fighting,” the other said. “It was crazy. Everyone was fighting.”
Da Silva said that school will “resume as normal” on Monday.
“The principal did say that he will probably request some HPD support that day, just in case, as a precaution,” Da Silva said.
John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
