BOISE – A brutal attack at a Boise apartment complex Saturday night started at a 3-year-old girl’s birthday party and ended in the stabbings of nine people, six of whom were children.
Police said a man who had just been forced out of another apartment stabbed all nine with a knife. Authorities identified his as Timmy Kinner, 30, of Los Angeles. He was arrested and held in the Ada County Jail.
All nine victims were refugees from overseas, Boise police said. They all were hospitalized, and one child was flown to Salt Lake City for medical treatment.
“These are victims who in their past homes have fled violence from Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia,” Police Chief Bill Bones said Sunday.
Kinner had been asked to leave the low-income Wylie Street Station Apartments one day earlier.
Kinner had been granted access to an apartment for a few days but was asked by its resident to leave because of his behavior, police said. Kinne returned Saturday night to “exact vengeance,” first targeting children, and then the adults who interceded to protect them. He was attacking any target available, Bones said.
The victims included the birthday girl, two 4-year-olds and other children, ages 6, 8 and 12.
Kinner faces nine charges of aggravated battery and six charges of injury to a child, all felonies.
At a news conference Sunday, Bones said that when officers arrived at the chaotic scene about 9 p.m. Saturday, bodies were scattered across the apartment complex — in the buildings, in the street and in the walkways.
“This is an attack against those who are most vulnerable, our children,” Bones said. “It’s untenable, unconscionable and is pure evil in my mind.
“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 will carry with me for the rest of my life,” Bones said. “And so will every first responder that was there last night.” Bones said there is no specific evidence that the stabbings were a hate crime, though police were still investigating. He said Kinner has not been cooperative with detectives.
Kinner was indicted in Tennessee in 2008 for illegal position of a semi-automatic handgun and distributing 12 grams or more marijuana, according to court records. Hhe pleaded guilty to the weapons charge and was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison and 500 hours of drug rehabilitation.
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter also spoke at the news conference. He said Boise has been recognized as a city that is successful in integrating refugees and immigrants, and this attack does not represent his welcoming city.
“This a chance to reaffirm what we stand for and who we are and those commitments are deep and long-lasting as we move forward,” Bieter said.
