Four teenage bullies were recorded on video assaulting a 21-year-old woman with an intellectual disability in a brutal attack in a small Hawaiian town, sparking outrage among residents who tracked down the offenders until they were taken into custody.
The distressing video shows two of the bullies encircling and mocking the victim, identified only as Carly, at a bus stop in Wahiawa, approximately 20 miles north of Honolulu.
Subsequently, one of the bullies, 18-year-old Jasmine Keola, demands Carly remove her backpack before forcefully throwing it to the ground. Keola then violently smacks her glasses off her face.
Carly screams and crouches to the ground, where the violent slapping continues.
“You dumb f–k,” Keola yells.
“This is why I don’t want to take the bus anymore, because I don’t want to mess with you,” Carly said despairingly, the footage shows before Carly manages to get back up on her feet.
“What are you going to do?” the other girls mock.
“I’m going to leave my everything … right now,” she says as she attempts to walk away.
Carly gets to the other side of the street, where the girls continue hitting and laughing at her.
The assault escalates when Carly is on the ground again. The girls kick and punch her in the head, and she’s unable to fight back.
“Now what are you going to do? F–king dumb c–t,” one of the girls is heard screaming.
“She’s knocked out,” another said, sounding proud.
The vicious attack has angered the community.
“This was absolutely cruel. It was more than bullying … it was a senseless, cruel assault and simply pure evil. The girls involved in this should be absolutely ashamed of themselves,” said Honolulu resident Michael Kitchens.
“It was one of the worst actions you can take against someone who is unwilling, defenseless, and unfortunately, one who suffers with disabilities. I do not have sympathy for them.”
Kitchens was one of the local vigilantes who hunted down the suspects. Some even livestreamed their searches on social media. At one point, 11,000 people were watching the drama unfold on Instagram Live, as video showed community members scaling buildings to confront the bullies.
“It’s not right. We’re not bullies ourselves. You shouldn’t bully nobody else, especially someone that can’t stand up for themselves,” Leilehua High School senior Journey Emond told Hawaii News.
Honolulu police arrested three girls, aged 14, 16 and 18. A 13-year-old boy was also arrested. But the suspects were all released from jail, and the case against them was dismissed.
Keola apologized after court.
“I got pressured actually to fighting the girl. I didn’t want to fight her. but I did anyway … I’m sorry for what I did, I didn’t mean to do it,” Keola told KHON.
Her mother also expressed remorse.
“I didn’t mean for it to go this far. But I apologize for my children’s actions, and I hope that you guys can forgive my kids,” she said.
