NANAKULI, Hawaii (KHON2) — A rally was held on Friday, Sept. 12, almost one week after a 17-year-old boy was shot at Zablan Beach in Nanakuli.
The boy was declared brain dead on Monday, Sept. 8, and his family said the boy has now passed on.
The rally brought friends and family of 17-year-old Kamakea Iaea together in Nanakuli to call for safer streets and an end to youth violence. Iaea’s grandmother said it is also a message to future generations.
“Just adds strength to our family and bringing the community together is our number one focus right now to support and bring our youngsters to safety,” Lima Kakalia said. “Keeping our keiki safe and taking the right roads to know that guns is not the way. Violence is not the way, and just make friends in our community and let them grow.”
Lawmakers told KHON2 that this is an issue that does not have an easy solution, and incidents that prompt rallies like these should not define West Oahu.
“When they see headlines of the west side, can you see past that one headline and know that I have hundreds and thousands of amazing community members that are not reflective of one person’s action,” Rep. Darius Kila said.
Rep. Kila stressed the important role of parents and guardians to keep an eye on their children and who they hang out with.
“You should feel empowered to check your kids’ things. Know where they’re at,” he said. “And I know it can be really hard. And I know it’s uncomfortable, but if they don’t have a path or direction forward, someone else is going to give them a path that I don’t want them to go down.”
He also pointed to potential solutions, like student resource officers in schools.
“We can hopefully get this pilot off the ground here on the west side to have police presence in our schools, it can hopefully trickle down into this effect of our younger generation not wanting to go down this path,” Rep. Kila said.
“Well, they know Kamakea, and they have him in their heart,s so they’ll do anything to help any other youngster go through what we’re going through or what Kamakea went through,” Kakalia said. “But we will carry him in our hearts forever.”