4 college students killed in ‘targeted attack,’ no suspects in custody

MOSCOW (ABC News): Four University of Idaho students were killed in “an isolated, targeted attack” with an “edged weapon” like a knife, police revealed on Tuesday.

The students, who were found dead on Sunday in a house near campus, were identified by the Moscow, Idaho, police as: Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.

Moscow police Capt. Anthony Dahlinger told the Idaho Statesman that all four students are considered victims, not suspects.

“We certainly have a crime here, so we are looking for a suspect,” he told the newspaper.

No one is in custody but police said they believe there’s “no imminent threat to the community.”

The fatalities appear to be a “one-off crime” that “was very focused and doesn’t involve other students or the public in general at all,” Moscow Mayor Art Bettge told ABC News.

It’s believed the crime happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, the mayor said. The victims were found around noon on Sunday when officers responded to a report of an unconscious person, according to police.

The weapon wasn’t found at the scene, police added.

Police said they’re working to “re-create the victims’ activities” on Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Chapin, a freshman, was in the Sigma Chi fraternity and was majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management, university president Scott Green said.