- An argument led to a deadly shooting at a cockfight in Hawaii last week, the AP reported.
- Two people were shot and killed at the event, and three were wounded.
An argument and physical altercation led to a deadly shooting at a cockfight in Hawaii last week, court documents revealed on Thursday.
Last weekend, Gary Rabellizsa, 34, and Cathy Rabellizsa, 59, were killed from gunshot wounds, and three others were wounded, in a rural neighborhood of Waianae, near the state capital of Honolulu. It was one of the most serious shootings in Hawaii's history, the Associated Press reported.
There were 100 to 200 people in attendance.
In a GoFundMe page set up for Gary Rabellizsa earlier this week, his wife wrote, "In the early hours of April 15, my husband was a victim of 'wrong place, wrong time,' when he bravely inserted himself between two groups of men who had started an altercation amongst themselves."
"As a result of trying to keep the peace, my husband was fatally shot multiple times," Kat Rabellizsa wrote.
One of the men who was shot told authorities that when the fight finished, three young men were physically arguing with six affiliates of a "well-known organizer of chicken fights in the Waianae area," court documents said, according to the Associated Press.
Jacob Borge, 23, and a 16-year-old turned themselves in earlier this week, Honolulu authorities said.
Borge — who goes by the street name "Hot Boi Jake," according to court documents — was charged on Wednesday with first and second-degree murder, and his bail was set at $2 million, the Associated Press reported.
While cockfighting, or chicken fighting, is illegal in Hawaii, it is still popular in the state. Hawaii authorities vowed to step up illegal gambling enforcement after the incident, per the AP. Cock-fighting retains iconic cultural status in Hawaii, according to a 2014 study.
Cockfighting causes animal suffering and usually leads to the death of one or both birds forced to participate with knives strapped to their feet while spectators bet on the outcome, according to The Humane Society.