No one was seriously injured Wednesday morning when a large-scale fracas broke out on the Pahoa High School campus, but an 18-year-old man and six juveniles — all students — were arrested, according to police.
The legal adult, 18-year-old Advin Nakashima, and four juvenile males — two aged 16, a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old — were charged with second-degree assault, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment upon conviction.
Capt. Scott Amaral, Hawaii Police Department’s Puna commander, told the Tribune-Herald Thursday the felony charges are because the victim, a 20-year-old man, is a security guard at the campus and there are stiffer penalties for attacks on school personnel.
“It had nothing to do with the seriousness of the injuries” the man sustained, Amaral said.
The victim was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was treated and released after being assaulted by the five male students, police said.
Chad Keone Farias, the Department of Education’s Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa area superintendent, said he didn’t know if the security guard returned to work on Thursday.
Nakashima was released from police custody Wednesday night after posting $2,000 bail. The juvenile boys were all taken to Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility on Oahu to await their court appearances.
Also arrested were two girls, ages 16 and 17. Both were charged with disorderly conduct, a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, and released to the custody of their parents, Amaral said.
Only Nakashima’s name was made public because the others arrested are minors.
Officer Joseph Picadura, a school resource officer, contacted patrol officers at 10:20 a.m. after a large group of students started arguing, resulting in a physical altercation. As additional officers were en route, Picadura and school staff started to break up the fracas, resulting in the guard’s assault by the students, according to police.
“The school resource officer being there definitely helped in the situation and the response,” Amaral said. “Large-scale fights on campus have become more rare since we’ve stationed a school resource officer there. They’re there not just to respond when something does happen, but hopefully also to mediate in situations before things get out of control.”
Amaral said 11 officers responded to the campus, but added some of officers responded to transport students who were arrested to the Pahoa police station for booking.
Both police and Farias also credited a prompt campus lockdown as a factor in keeping a tense situation from becoming worse.
“The school went into a lockdown to keep the kids in the classroom. The kids want to watch fights,” Farias said. “I think we’re more sensitive about locking down a lot quicker because of COVID and because we don’t want to do crowd control.”
According to Farias, administrators worked late Wednesday on the school’s investigation of the incident.
Police said 20 students were suspended by the school, but Farias told the Tribune-Herald there were 13 suspensions.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.