BOISE, Idaho -- Nine refugees, including six children, were stabbed at a toddler's birthday party at an Idaho apartment complex, according to Boise police.
Timmy Earl Kinner of Los Angeles showed up late Saturday at the complex, which he had been asked to leave on Friday because of bad behavior. Kinner, who is not a refugee, targeted the party that was held a few doors down from an 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," Police Chief William Bones said Sunday.
The victims included the 3-year-old birthday girl and five other children "from different continents" ages 4 to 12, Bones said. Three adults who came to their defense were also hurt. All were taken to a hospital, police said, and at least four had life-threatening injuries. One victim had been flown to Salt Lake City, he added.
"It's just something we don't see in Boise, the level of violence which occurred here," an emotional Bones told reporters. "Most hard on myself ... is when you see innocence targeted and the suffering which occurs, and when that involves children, it's something that gets to each of us ... It tears your heart apart."
Bones said the refugees were from Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia, and were "the newest members of our community."
A resident of the complex had recently met Kinner, who was new to the area and needed a place to stay, Bones said.
"I believe her perception was, 'Here's a helping hand I can give in return for a helping hand I have been given,'" Bones said.
The resident asked Kinner to leave Friday when his behavior became a problem, and he did so peacefully, Bones said. The police chief did not elaborate on his behavior. The woman was not among the victims.
Esrom Habte, 12, and Fathi Mahamoud, 11, were playing in the grass behind their apartment when the attack began. They saw the suspect chasing people.
"We saw him saying, like, bad words and stabbing a kid and a grown-up and really hard and a lot of times," Esrom said.
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.
Some of the stabbing victims were their friends, Fathi said.
Kinner, 30, was arrested near the scene and charged with aggravated battery and of injury to a child. Investigators recovered the "large folding blade knife" he was believed to have used in a nearby canal, Bones said.
The attack resulted in the most victims in a single incident in Boise Police Department history, the police chief said.
"The crime scene, the faces of the parents struggling, the tears coming down their faces, the faces of the children in their hospital beds will be something that I carry with me for the rest of my life, as will every first responder that night," he said.
Jail records for Kinner showed he was arrested early Sunday and charged with nine counts of aggravated battery and six counts of injury to a child. A court appearance for Kinner is scheduled for today.
Information for this article was contributed by Rebecca Boone and Collin Binkley of The Associated Press; and by Amy B. Wang of The Washington Post.
A Section on 07/02/2018