A horrific stabbing spree at a Boise, Idaho, apartment complex last night left nine people injured, including six children. Local media reports state that four of the victims have life-threatening injuries.

The national media quickly seized on the fact that the apartment complex was known to house refugees and that some of the victims themselves were apparently refugees.

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The Hill
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@thehill
Idaho man injures 9 in stabbing attack on refugee families http://hill.cm/PlSnmbT

7:45 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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BuzzFeed News
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@BuzzFeedNews
At least nine people were injured in a knife attack at an apartment complex in Boise, Idaho, that is known to house resettled refugees https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/nine-people-injured-knife-att... …

6:49 AM - Jul 1, 2018

Nine People, Including Refugees, Were Injured In A Knife Attack On An Apartment Complex In Idaho
"We haven't had anything involving this amount of victims in a single attack in Boise in the history of the department," the police chief said.

buzzfeed.com
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John Bacon
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@jmbacon
Refugees among wounded in knife attack at Boise low-income apartment complex. "A single, evil individual" who doesn't represent community, police chief says. https://usat.ly/2u19y31

7:39 AM - Jul 1, 2018

9 injured, including refugees, in stabbing at Boise, Idaho, apartment complex
Idaho police say nine people were hospitalized early Sunday and one man is in custody after a mass stabbing at a Boise apartment complex that is home to many refugee families. A 30-year-man is in...

usatoday.com
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Despite the fact that the 30-year-old male suspect was arrested last night at 8:50 p.m. and his arrest record and mugshot were posted on the Ada County Sheriff's website at 3:46 this morning, none of the articles identified the suspect.

CNN left the suspect's identity out, too, while pushing the refugee status of the victims:

CNN
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@CNN
Nine people were stabbed by a single assailant at an apartment complex in Boise, Idaho, police say https://cnn.it/2KlsFj3

12:59 AM - Jul 1, 2018

Nine stabbed in Idaho apartment complex attack
Nine people were stabbed by a single assailant at an apartment complex in Boise, Idaho, Saturday, police said.

cnn.com
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That the victims were refugees — with no mention of the suspect's identity — was quickly highlighted by establishment media types:

Glenn Thrush
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@GlennThrush
No motive has been established. But.... 9 people at a housing complex for refugees in Idaho were stabbed and several of those stabbed might die, per police.https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/01/us/idaho-boise-stabbings/index.html …

6:40 AM - Jul 1, 2018

Nine stabbed in Idaho apartment complex attack
Nine people were stabbed by a single assailant at an apartment complex in Boise, Idaho, Saturday, police said.

cnn.com
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ThinkProgress
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@thinkprogress
Stabbing rampage at Idaho apartment complex leaves 9 refugees injuredhttps://thinkprogress.org/refugees-injured-in-mass-stabbing-08e9777d678e/ …

8:44 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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The seeming direction that the media narrative took was that this was a hate crime by someone from out of state, directed at Boise's refugee community and fueled by anti-immigration rhetoric.

Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case with arrested suspect Timmy Earl Kinner:

Alexis Goree
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@AlexisKBOI
NEW: Police say Timmy Kinner, 30, of Los Angeles, was arrested and charged with nine counts of felony aggravated battery and six counts of felony injury to a child.https://idahonews.com/news/local/police-identify-man-arrested-for-b... …

8:20 AM - Jul 1, 2018 · Boise, ID

Police identify man arrested for Boise stabbing that injured nine
Boise police have identified the man arrested for a stabbing that injured nine people Saturday night, including six children.Police say Timmy Kinner, 30, of Los Angeles, was arrested and charged with...

idahonews.com
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Justin Miller
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@justinjm1
The suspect in the Boise mass stabbing had lived at the apartment and was asked to leave before the attack http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/6-children-3-adults-hospitali... …

7:40 AM - Jul 1, 2018

6 Children, 3 Adults Hospitalized After Mass Stabbing In Boise
6 children and 3 adults have been hospitalized – including resettled refugees – after a mass stabbing in Boise in what police say is the single most severe

boisestatepublicradio.org
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A quick internet search shows a series of arrests and charges for Kinner in a number of states, including apparently being shot by a homeowner during a burglary, but nothing to indicate any anti-immigrant animus or bias, just a career criminal.

That notwithstanding, the message that the horrific stabbings last night were fueled by anti-refugee sentiments and by President Trump quickly took hold on social media, including from D.C.-area PR specialist Brian Lustig in a now-deleted tweet:

Ward Harkavy
@WHarkavy
· 11h
One of those unofficial StormTrumpers? >> 9 hospitalized after mass stabbing at Boise apartment complex where many refugee families live https://buff.ly/2MD5Iop pic.twitter.com/gmGtwDbJGN

Ward Harkavy
@WHarkavy
Weird that right-wingers are tweeting that a black guy is the stabber of the Boise refugees, and they link to what looks like a legit Idaho sheriff's site that lists the name, photo and charges -- and yet no news source has reported this. What gives?

7:27 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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Here is more of that Trump #MAGA (Make America Morons Again). Hey @realDonaldTrump going to get some more people murdered with your hate-spewing? https://t.co/w3b7JO0oO0

— Bob Schneider (@Bobndc) July 1, 2018

Self-styled Russia expert and registered foreign agent Molly McKew knew exactly whom to blame — RUSSIA!!!

Molly McKew
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@MollyMcKew
And a reminder to you all that Idaho has been intensely targeted by Russian info ops aiming to inflame people on the refugee issue.

Idaho had has basque, Bosnian, Middle Eastern communities for years with no problems. Good state citizens and economic engines.

Ugh.

Brian Stelter
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@brianstelter
In Boise, "a man is in custody after a stabbing that left nine people injured at an apartment complex that houses refugee families." Police "have yet to establish a motive for the attack." http://www.cnn.com/2018/07/01/us/idaho-boise-stabbings/index.html …

6:14 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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The story also allowed for airing other racial grievances:

donald15104
@Donald64195420
· 9h
The stabbing and critically injuring the refugees in Boise is another example of white american terrorism. Notice the police description of the suspect is 30 year old male, but didn't include his race. That omission let's you know the perpetrator is white.

donald15104
@Donald64195420
If the perpetrator were brown or black you KNOW that fact would have been included in the police description. The subtleties of racism.

6:04 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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Given the media's less-than-stellar response to Thursday's horrific mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper on and all kinds of hints that President Trump's criticism of the media was to blame (turns out the killer had a long-standing grudge against the newspaper), you might think that the establishment media would be inclined to tone down the rhetoric against Trump and his supporters and wait until all the facts come out.

That doesn't seem to be the case. In last night's stabbing spree, there is no indication that the refugee status of some of the victims played any role at all. But that was exactly the element to the story that the media led with earlier today.

Media claims that overheated rhetoric is having a corrosive effect on our political and social discourse may be true, but the media seems to be reluctant to admit, let alone correct, their own fearmongering and how it is contributing to the problem. This is especially true as the facts in many of these cases don't match the initial media narrative.

One might argue that the low public opinion of the media is more due in part to these missteps and the media's own behavior than anything the president says or tweets.

pjmedia.com/trending/suspect-in-boise-stabbing-spree-doesnt-quite-match-medias-narrative/