HONOLULU (KHON2) — A sand sculpture artist has repaired his creation.
The sculpture was attacked by a resident teenage girl on Monday. The attack left one figure headless and other areas beaten and scratched.
The juvenile girl has been identified, as has her acquaintance. They face criminal property damage charges.
Police say the incident happened Monday night shortly after 11 p.m. in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel lobby.
Crimestoppers and Honolulu Police shared the video on their Facebook pages Thursday, and it quickly went viral.
“Within a couple of hours we started getting a bunch of tips and getting possible suspect names,” said Sgt. Chris Kim, Honolulu Crimestoppers.
Police positively identified the girls as teenagers who live on Oahu.
“I’m sure at the time these juveniles probably thought it was funny, not realizing how much damage it would cost and essentially the long-term effects on their reputation,” Sgt. Kim said.
The girls haven’t been arrested yet, but police are still working with the hotel and families.
The case was initially classified as criminal property degree in the second degree, which is a Class C Felony.
“They’re estimating it had to have been over $1,500 in damages,” Sgt. Kim said.
The artist had finished his sculpture back on July 15, 2019, and went home to Florida.
The Royal Hawaiian hotel flew him back in from Florida on Thursday.
He put the final touches to his work this afternoon.
“This is the first hand sculpture that the Royal Hawaiian has and so we’re so proud of it because the Royal Hawaiian speaks to that rich sense of culture and that’s what makes this so important to us,” said
Kehaulani Kam, director of cultural services for Kyo-ya Hotels Hawaii.
The sculpture represents two keiki during Makahiki season.
“In a way it’s difficult to wrap our heads around why someone would do this,” she said.
“For me, I hope whoever did do it will get a better understanding of what she did and the importance of coming here. We welcome her back, but what she needs to do is to work with us and to better understand the history and the deep sense of who we are as people of Hawaii,” Kam said.
The sculptor said he’s been doing this work worldwide for more than two decades.
He said this is the craziest act of someone destroying his work that he’s seen.