The killer who stabbed four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus on Sunday is still at large.
Moscow Police said they have not determined if there was one attacker or more.
The identity of the attacker(s) is still not known.
“It is with deep sadness that I share with you that the university was notified today of the death of four University of Idaho students living off-campus believed to be victims of homicide,” University of Idaho President Scott Green said in a Monday statement. “Out of respect for these fellow Vandals, classes statewide and online are cancelled Monday, Nov. 14. All campuses remain open. Classes will resume Tuesday, Nov. 15.”
The four deceased students were identified on Monday: 20-year-old Ethan Chapin of Conway, Washington; 21-year-old Madison Mogen of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; 20-year-old Xana Kernodle of Avondale, Arizona; and 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves of Rathdrum, Idaho.
Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community even though the killer is still at large because the stabbings were an “isolated, targeted attack.”
Many students packed up and fled the campus anyway.
AP reported:
The killer — or killers — who stabbed four University of Idaho students to death remained at large Tuesday, prompting many students to leave the campus in the idyllic small town despite police assurances that there was no imminent risk to the community.
The students, all close friends, were found dead in an off-campus rental home around noon on Sunday, and officials said they likely were killed several hours earlier. Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told the Spokane, Washington-based television station KXLY that her preliminary investigation showed the students were stabbed to death. There is no indication that substance use was involved in the deaths, Mabbutt said.
The Moscow Police Department has not said whether investigators have identified any suspects, but maintained in a statement that the killings came in “an isolated, targeted attack and there is no imminent threat to the community at large.” Police also said evidence from the scene indicates there is no broader risk, but provided no information about that evidence nor why they believe the victims were targeted.
The police department said investigators were working to establish a timeline of the victims’ activities before they were killed. That includes reviewing video from a Twitch livestream that showed two of the victims chatting and getting a late night snack from a food truck in the hours before the slayings, said Thompson.
“They’re in the process of identifying the other people who were there,” at the food truck, Thompson said, “and what sort of contact did they have.”
