Kekoa Tamale, pictured, was injured by a mob who was attacking a 15-year-old on the North Shore. Photo: Gofundme
An investigation has been ongoing into the culprits responsible for a brutal attack on the North Shore. Kekoa Tamale, a 23-year-old North Shore lifeguard, stepped in to save a 15-year-old who was being attacked by a mob – leading to severe injuries and hospitalization for both.
The attack occurred late Saturday night, but Tamale says he first encountered the attackers earlier at a party at Pipeline, where he says one of them punched him in the back of the head without provocation. “I turned around and asked them what’s going on and then two other boys come from behind and one tackles me and then I get up but they all run,” Tamale told Hawaii News Now.
Later on, after he had gone to another North Shore spot known as “Dead Man’s Curve,” he encountered them again – this time in the middle of a brutal attack on a 15-year-old whose name has been withheld due to his age. “They drag this 15-year-old out of the car,” Tamale described. “It was a mix of men and high schoolers, but pretty big guys, and they were holding him down, and he’s not a big guy.”
Tamale says that, while others looked on, he stepped in to intervene. “Everyone was either filming, laughing, or ran, so no one was helping this boy and if I didn’t do anything, he would’ve died,” Tamale continued. “They posted a whole TikTok, they didn’t feel bad about it.”
He says he tackled one of the attackers, which gave the boy a chance to escape, but turned the mob on to Tamale instead. “At one point, they were trying to drown me. One boy had my hair, and he was like putting me in the water,” he continued. “Every time I tried to get up and back up, someone would try and tackle me.”
The attack left both Tamale and the teenager severely injured. According to a GoFundMe started for them, Kekoa suffered a broken hand and eye sockets, had plastic surgery to reconstruct his eyelid, a concussion, and bruising all over his body. The boy suffered a broken nose, concussion, possible loss of vision in one eye, loose teeth, and a severe knee injury.
“To add insult to injury, the attackers, who had filmed the entire incident, took the time to edit and create a whole reel of the attack, glorifying the violence, and posted it to TikTok,” added the GoFundMe’s creator Popua Pyland. “We’re actively in investigations to identify all the attackers.”
According to KHON 2, Honolulu Police have arrested three juveniles in connection with the assault. They added that the investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are anticipated.
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