Idaho Mass Stabbing: Suspect Accused of Targeting 3-Year-Old’s Birthday Party

A man who had been asked to leave an apartment complex in Boise returned the next day and stabbed children celebrating a 3-year-old girl’s birthday, authorities said Sunday. Six children, ages four to 12, were injured in the attack, along with three adults who rushed to their defense. Boise Police Chief William Bones said the victims are alive but some are gravely injured.

Timmy Kinner, 30, of Los Angeles, was arrested and charged with nine counts of aggravated battery and six counts of injury to a child, CBS affiliate KBOI-TV reports. Police said they had not yet identified a motive.

The attack took place at an apartment complex home to many refugees. Kinner is not a refugee, police said, but he temporarily lived at the complex until he was asked to leave on Friday. Kinner returned Saturday when the girl was having her party a few doors down from where he had stayed, police said.

“Our victims are some of the newest members of our community. They’re victims of their past homes who have fled violence from Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia,” Bones said at a news conference Sunday. “This was an attack against those who are most vulnerable — our children.”

Bones said investigators have not yet found “specific evidence” that would indicate the attack was a hate crime but said they would be looking into that possibility due to “the nature of the location and the victims.”

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“It was kind of scary because we were outside,” Esrom [age 12] told reporters alongside his mother. “He was chasing people and stabbing people.”

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[Police Chief William] Bones said the attack resulted in the most victims in a single incident in Boise Police Department history.

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Residents of the apartments and the rest of the community were “reeling” from the violence, Bones said, and will need long-term community support.

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Timothy Kinner