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3-Year-Old Victim In Boise Stabbing Dies; Suspect Now Faces Murder Charge

Update, 1:49 p.m. Monday: The suspect in Saturday night’s mass stabbing is now facing first-degree murder charges after one of the victims died at a Utah hospital.

  Click 'play' to hear the audio version of this story.

Boise Police confirmed the three-year-old girl, who had been celebrating her birthday, has died. Her name will be released at a later date.One other child has been treated and released, but four children and three adults remain hospitalized with serious or critical injuries, according to police.

An Ada County Magistrate Judge ordered 30-year-old Timmy Kinner be held without bond, calling him “an extreme danger to the community” according to KTVB.

Kinner also faces at least nine other felony charges.

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Twelve-year-old Esrom Habte told KIVI-TV he was playing with friends in the late-evening light outside his family’s apartment Saturday night when he says he saw a man begin attacking some of his neighbors.

"When we were outside he was chasing people and stabbing them so we went inside the closet," Habte said. "We saw a killer and we didn't want to get stabbed."

12-year-old Esrom Habte, right, says he witnessed Saturday's mass stabbing before running to a closet and locking the door behind him.
Credit James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio
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Boise State Public Radio
12-year-old Esrom Habte, right, says he witnessed Saturday's mass stabbing before running to a closet and locking the door behind him.

Habte and several other children ran inside, locked the door and called the police. They huddled together until a dispatcher told them a suspect had been caught.The grisly attack involved the most victims of any single attack in the city’s history, according to the Boise Police Department.

BPD confirmed a man armed with a knife attacked a crowd of people gathered for a child’s birthday party at the Wylie Street Station Apartments, which is home to many refugee families, that’s left the city in shock.

Six children and three adults were hospitalized after the mass stabbing, several with life-threatening injuries. The victims included one 3-year-old girl, two 4-year-olds, a 6-year-old, an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old.

Police do not believe the attack was a hate crime at this time, but are continuing to investigate with help from the FBI.

Identities of the victims were not released, but some are resettled refugees from Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia.

As of Sunday afternoon, all nine victims had survived the night. Due to her extensive injuries, one child has been flown to Salt Lake City for treatment.

“This was an attack against those who are most vulnerable, our children,” Boise Police Chief Bill Bones said. “It’s untenable, unconscionable and is pure evil, in my mind.”

30-year-old Timmy Kinner was booked into the Ada County Jail early Sunday morning as a suspect in a mass stabbing attack in Boise.
Credit Ada County Sheriff's Office
30-year-old Timmy Kinner was booked into the Ada County Jail early Sunday morning as a suspect in a mass stabbing attack in Boise.

Quickly after the attack, authorities arrested 30-year-old Timmy Kinner of Los Angeles, who has an extensive criminal record, police say. They say he had been staying at the apartment complex until he was asked to leave Friday, which he did without incident.

"He returned last night to exact revengence [sic] not just on those that he had been with – as they were not at the apartment – but at any target that was available," said Bones.

Boise has a long history of resettling refugees that dates back decades.

Mayor Dave Bieter, whose own grandparents emigrated from the Basque country, called the attack a “callous act” that doesn’t reflect the community.

“This is a chance to reaffirm who we are, what we stand for and those values and those commitments are deep and long lasting and we’ll go forward,” Bieter said.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) of Boise is also condemning the mass stabbing. The organization is helping families find temporary housing, offering travel assistance for those needing medical care and other assistance for those who don’t feel safe.

“It is heartbreaking to know that people and children who fled horrors of war and conflict to find safety in America and the Boise community had to experience this violence all over again,” said Megan Schwab, an IRC spokesperson.

The group is also helping coordinate a fundraising campaign to help victims’ families.

On Sunday, several people left bouquets of flowers just outside the police line at the apartment complex, including Donna Hale. She and her family learned of the news late Saturday night and felt she had to do something.

 

Community members left bouquets of flowers next to the police line on Wylie Lane after nine people were hospitalized following a mass stabbing.
Credit James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio
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Boise State Public Radio
Community members left bouquets of flowers next to the police line on Wylie Lane after nine people were hospitalized following a mass stabbing.

"We didn’t know what to do so we did the little thing we could which is just to say, ‘We see you and we’re sorry and we care,’" Hale said.A vigil for the victims is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday on the front steps of Boise City Hall.

Speakers and participants at Sunday’s press conference were visibly shaken, including BPD Chief Bill Bones.

“The crime scene, the faces of the parents struggling, the tears coming down their faces, the faces of the children in the hospital beds, will be something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life, as will every first responder that was there last night,” Bones said.

This is a breaking story that was published on June 30, 2018. We will continue to update it as more information becomes available.

Follow James Dawson on Twitter @RadioDawson for more local news.

Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio

 

Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio News. To see more, visit Boise State Public Radio News.

Boise Police cordoned off Wylie Street Station Apartments after nine victims were stabbed Saturday night.
James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio
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Boise State Public Radio
Boise Police cordoned off Wylie Street Station Apartments after nine victims were stabbed Saturday night.

A visually emotional Boise Police Chief Bill Bones delivered updates on the attack at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio
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Boise State Public Radio
A visually emotional Boise Police Chief Bill Bones delivered updates on the attack at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

James Dawson joined Boise State Public Radio as the organization's News Director in 2017. He oversees the station's award-winning news department. Most recently, he covered state politics and government for Delaware Public Media since the station first began broadcasting in 2012 as the country's newest NPR affiliate. Those reports spanned two governors, three sessions of the Delaware General Assembly, and three consequential elections. His work has been featured on All Things Considered and NPR's newscast division. An Idaho native from north of the time zone bridge, James previously served as the public affairs reporter and interim news director for the commercial radio network Inland Northwest Broadcasting. His reporting experience included state and local government, arts and culture, crime, and agriculture. He's a proud University of Idaho graduate with a bachelor's degree in Broadcasting and Digital Media. When he's not in the office, you can find James fly fishing, buffing up on his photography or watching the Seattle Mariners' latest rebuilding season.
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