A Midwestern city not normally known for violence is in shock after an attack by a man has left at least nine people, including 6 children, with serious injuries. The assault occurred this past Saturday in Boise, Idaho, when a man identified as Timmy Kinner, 30, became upset after a woman he was staying with asked him to leave her apartment the previous day. According to Boise Weekly, the unidentified female resident had taken Kinner into her home out of kindness after he fell on hard times.
After exhibiting erratic behavior, the woman asked Kinner to leave her residence on Friday, June 30, 2018, after a heated argument. It is reported that Kinner left the apartment that night but returned on Saturday night seeking retribution. Armed with a knife, he returned to the woman’s apartment but she was not home, so he went a few doors down where a children’s birthday party was occurring and entered the residence of a family he did not know. Adults in the room confronted Kinner, who began using profanity and then pulled out a large folding knife and then began stabbing everyone in the room. Police state he stabbed the birthday girl, a three-year-old child, as well as two four-year-olds and children aged six, eight, and 12 as well as three adults. Compounding the tragedy was the fact that the victims were members of the growing refugee community and were from Somalia and Ethiopia.
The adults were able to fight him off and get him out of the apartment and called 911. According to first responders, there were victims crying and bleeding in the hallway. Police were able to arrest Kinner a short distance away and also recovered the knife used in the attack. Kinner has been charged nine counts of aggravated battery and six counts of injury to a child. He has a long criminal history that includes prison time for violent offenses.
Boise has become a haven for refugees and according to the Idaho Office for Refugees, “recent arrivals include a large number of individuals from Iraq, Congo, Burma, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Somalia.”
