A North Shore lifeguard is being hailed as a hero after suffering serious injuries while trying to protect a 15-year-old boy from a violent mob attack on Oahu.
According to reports, 23-year-old lifeguard Kekoa Tamale stepped in Saturday night when he saw a group of roughly a dozen people attacking a teenage family friend on the North Shore. What happened next left both victims hospitalized with significant injuries.
Tamale said the incident began earlier in the evening at a party near Pipeline, where he was allegedly punched from behind by members of the same group. Later, at an area known locally as Dead Man’s Curve, he encountered them again.
That’s when things escalated.
“They drag this 15-year-old out of the car,” Tamale told Hawaii News Now. “It was a mix of men and high schoolers, but pretty big guys, and they were holding him down.”
What Tamale witnessed shocked him.
“The fact that they had him, holding him, it’s like torture,” he said. “It’s disgusting.”
Rather than walk away, the lifeguard intervened.
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“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 said.
Videos from the incident have been blurred in local news reports due to the brutality of the incident. But even in the grainy footage, the cruelty can be seen.
The teenager was eventually able to escape and get help. Tamale, however, became the target.
According to his account, members of the group punched, kicked, and held him underwater during the assault. “At one point, they were trying to drown me,” he recalled.
The injuries were severe.
Tamale says he suffered a broken hand, a fractured eye socket requiring reconstructive surgery, and a concussion. The 15-year-old also sustained serious injuries, though his identity is being withheld because he is a minor.
In the wake of the attack, family and friends launched a GoFundMe campaign to help both victims with medical expenses and recovery costs. The fundraiser describes a long road ahead for both Tamale and the teenager.
Meanwhile, Honolulu police say they are actively investigating the attack and are seeking information that could help identify those responsible.
For many across Hawaii’s surf community, the story has become less about the brutality of the assault and more about a hero who stepped up to save a young boy.
Support the GoFundMe account here.
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