15 Dead in Houk / Weequay Brawl at Eastport
EASTPORT, CORUSCANT — A three-hour melee between Houk and Weequay immigrants at an Eastport processing station has left 15 dead and 45 wounded.
The fracas began at 0810 this morning when tensions between the Houks and Weequays, who have long been cultural enemies, were compounded by being placed in adjacent holding rooms while waiting to be processed. According to witnesses, the conflict began verbally, before turning into bloodshed.
“Each group was complaining loudly about having to be put next to the other one,” said Rievale Creterk, a flight attendant who was witness to the melee. “Suddenly there was a lot of shouting and it started off as a brawl between two of them. Everyone started jumping in, and it all went to hell.”
Though no shots were fired by the combatants, since blasters are prohibited within the processing concourse, several were armed with makeshift shivs and concealed blades. Many innocent passersby were injured as the brawl spread from the processing station to the nearby food court. Also, several civilians attempted to calm the enraged combatants, only provoking attacks upon themselves.
Eastport Security first attempted to clear the public concourses before opening fire, but the fight had attracted many spectators. When it was decreed safe to do so, security personnel fired stun blasts, though the massive Houks were at first unaffected by the shots.
“Since Weequays started dropping from the hits first, the Houks just took it to mean they were winning, and they started fighting even harder,” described Creterk. Security then concentrated fire on the Houks, stunning them into unconsciousness. They were finally able to clear the remaining combatants three hours after the violence started.
“It was terrible, there was so much blood and damage. Bodies were everywhere. I kept looking, hoping to see a Jedi, but there’s never one around when you need one these days,” said Creterk, who suffered a broken arm in the scuffle.
