Photo/Illutration Okinawa prefectural police headquarters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

OKINAWA, Okinawa Prefecture--Hundreds of angry youth pelted a police station here with rocks and other objects from the night of Jan. 27 after reports surfaced on social media of a student being injured.

Police believe the mob came to the Okinawa Police Station in Okinawa city after information spread that a high school student was hit with a baton by a police officer whom he had struck with his motorbike earlier that day.

The disturbance at the station continued on and off from around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 to just after 4 a.m. on Jan. 28.

Up to around 300 young people gathered around the police station and smashed its windows. Police are still investigating the damage. No one was hurt during that incident, police sources said.

Earlier, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 27, police received a call from someone who reported witnessing reckless motorcycle driving in the Miyazato district in Okinawa city, according to police and other sources. Multiple police officers immediately rushed to the scene.

About 15 minutes later, a 29-year-old police officer ordered a motorcyclist to stop. But the person drove into the officer with the motorbike and then fled.

Later, a 17-year-old high school student, who was riding the motorbike, called the fire department to report that he was injured in the incident that he had caused. The student was reported to be seriously injured, with his right eyeball ruptured.

According to police, a picture believed to be that of the injured high school student, accompanied with text that said he “was hit by a police officer with a baton,” was posted and then quickly spread on social media.

“We will comment on the incident after we talk with the high school student and examine what happened,” police said.

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