Prosecutors declined to charge a 20-year-old Marine who stabbed another man during a robbery attempt Saturday morning in Waikiki.

The man was released about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, possibly because prosecutors decided the stabbing was in self-defense, police said.

The stabbing happened when a large group of men confronted the Marine, who was with another man, and demanded his property about 12:30 a.m.

The group assaulted the 20-year-old and chased him down when he fled and assaulted him again. The man pulled out a knife while surrounded by the group and stabbed a 19-year-old man who was attacking him before running off and hiding in a hotel lobby, police said.

Police arrested the Marine fronting the Honolulu Zoo on suspicion of first-degree assault. The man who was stabbed was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Police closed off Kalakaua Avenue between Kapahulu and Monsarrat avenues as they conducted their investigation. The road reopened just before 5:30 a.m.