3-Year-Old Refugee Girl Killed by Mass Stabber During Her Birthday Party Loved Disney Princesses
The 3-year-old whose birthday was being celebrated when a man allegedly went on a stabbing spree in Idaho Saturday, attacking six children and three adults, has died.
A statement from the Boise Police Department confirms the birthday girl, Ruya Kadir, was among the wounded — all of whom were refugees — and succumbed Monday to the severe injuries she sustained in the mass stabbing incident.
Ruya is being remembered for her sweet demeanor, as well as her love of Disney princesses and the color pink.
“Our caseworkers describe Ruya as a child who always sparkled when she walked into a room,” reads a statement from the International Rescue Committee, an organization assisting the families who were victimized.
“She was her mother’s princess, always the center of attention, and loved pink and Disney princesses. She had just turned three years old Saturday, and according to our IRC colleagues in Boise, was the epitome of sweetness.”
The statement adds that “Ruya and her mother are Ethiopian refugees. They arrived in the U.S. in December 2015 and settled in Boise. Her father is in Turkey. Ruya’s parents are enduring every parent’s worst nightmare, which is made doubly cruel by the fact that they fled to America to escape conflict in Ethiopia.”
The IRC statement says “now is a moment for people to pause, to come together and to redouble the commitment to help the world’s most vulnerable to safety, wherever they may be.”
Authorities in Boise have arrested 30-year-old Timothy Kinner as the suspect in the stabbing spree. Police say he’s a California resident who had been staying with a woman in the apartment complex where the violence took place.
Three of the victims remain in critical condition, the police statement says.
The child victims range in age from 3 to 12 years old, according to a police statement.
Boise Police Chief Bill Bones said at a Sunday press conference that Kinner had been asked to leave the apartment complex on Friday because of his behavior.
Kinner left peacefully, but allegedly returned to the complex Saturday to “exact vengeance,” Bones said. He allegedly attacked the children at the birthday party first, and then attacked adults who tried to stop him.
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The woman with whom Kinner had been staying was not present at the time of the attack, said Bones, who added that police don’t believe the suspect had a prior relationship with the victims.
“This was an attack against those who are most vulnerable, our children,” said Bones. “It’s untenable, unconscionable and is pure evil in my mind.”
“Lives do remain in danger,” Bones said, adding, “Some of the victims will be forever scarred.”
The victims were all refugees from Syria, Iraq or Ethiopia.
Kinner is being held without bail on nine counts of aggravated battery and six counts of injury to a child. Jail records do not list an attorney who might comment on his behalf.
He has not yet been charged with Ruya’s murder.
Bones said Kinner has “an extensive criminal record spanning multiple states,” including for violent crimes and crimes involving drug and alcohol abuse.
