By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A man who had been asked to leave an Idaho apartment complex because of bad behavior returned the next day and stabbed nine people, including six children, at a toddler's birthday party, police said.
Timmy Kinner showed up late Saturday at the complex, which houses many resettled refugee families. Kinner, who is not a refugee, targeted the party that was held a few doors down from the apartment where he had stayed for a short time, police said.
“This incident is not a representation of our community but a single evil individual who attacked people without provocation that we are aware of at this time,” Boise Police Chief William Bones said Sunday.
The victims included the 3-year-old birthday girl and five other children ages 4 to 12. Three adults who came to their defense were also hurt. Some were gravely wounded, Bones said.
A resident of the complex had allowed Kinner to stay there but asked him to leave Friday, Bones said. The police chief did not elaborate on his behavior.
Esrom Habte, 12, and Fathi Mahamoud, 11, were playing in the grass behind their apartment when the attack began.
“He was chasing people and stabbing people,” Esrom told reporters as his mother looked on.
He said the children saw Kinner “saying bad words and stabbing a grown-up really hard and a lot of times.”
The two ran into an apartment and hid in a closet with other children until police told them it was safe to come out, he said.
Kinner, 30, was arrested near the scene and charged with aggravated battery and of injury to a child.
The attack resulted in the most victims in a single incident in Boise Police Department history, the police chief said.
The apartment complex is just off of one of Boise's busier streets, separated from the traffic by one of the many irrigation canals that run through the city. On Sunday, colorful bouquets had been placed just outside crime-scene tape.
Residents of the apartments and the rest of the community were “reeling” from the violence, Bones said.
Mayor Dave Bieter condemned the stabbings on Twitter.
“Last night's horrific attack does not represent Boise,” Bieter wrote. “Please join me in praying for the injured and their families. We must come together to condemn this vile act.”
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