3-year-old girl stabbed at birthday party dies

Crowds of people bearing flowers and balloons gathered Monday in Idaho’s capital for a vigil in honor of nine people who were stabbed at a birthday party in Boise.

A 3-year-old girl died from injuries she suffered in the attack, which occurred at an apartment complex that houses refugees.

Suspect Timmy Kinner was charged on Monday with murder in her death, an Ada County court clerk said.

The unidentified girl was one of six children injured in the attack. The remaining eight victims, one child was treated and released from the hospital, and seven others are still in the hospital, many with serious or critical injuries, Boise police said.

On Monday night, members of the community shared messages of love and peace in a vigil outside Boise City Hall saying: “This act doesn’t define us,” one speaker told the crowd. “Let’s build a peaceful community together.”

Kinner is accused of attacking the birthday party because he wanted revenge for being kicked out of the complex, Boise police Chief William Bones said Sunday.

Kinner, who is not a refugee, is from Los Angeles, police said. An unnamed resident who had let Kinner stay in the building asked him to leave because of “his behavior, police said.

Victims include refugees from Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia and children between 3 and 12 years old — “some of the newest members of our community,” Bones said.

“As you can imagine, the witnesses in the apartment complex — along with the rest of our community — are reeling from this attack,” the police chief 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 said there is no indication the stabbing was a hate crime and the FBI is assisting with the investigation.

An official from the International Rescue Committee praised Boise for its support of refugees. “It is heartbreaking that adults and children who fled the horror of war and conflict to find safety in America had to experience violence all over again,” Hans Van de Weerd, vice president of US programs, said in a statement.

Police responded to a call of a man with a knife at 8:46 p.m. and arrived at the apartment complex four minutes later, Bones said. “Officers located the suspect almost immediately and took him into custody.”

Kinner is charged with murder, eight counts of aggravated battery and one count of enhancement-use of a deadly weapon in commission of a felony, the clerk said. He is due back in court on July 16.