CNN
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More questions than answers continue to plague the Moscow, Idaho, community after the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students – and police said they cannot assure the community is safe.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry gave an update Wednesday, saying two additional roommates were in the home at the time of the killings who were neither injured nor held hostage. Fry also said two of the victims – Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle – were at a party on campus, while the other two victims – Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves – were at a downtown bar prior to their deaths.
All four arrived back home sometime after 1:45 a.m. local time, Fry said. They were killed “sometime in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 13,” Fry said.
But there were no calls to 911 until noon Sunday. Fry did not say who called 911, despite two people being at the home when the killing took place and when officers responded. Fry also declined to say if the two people spoke with police.
“We’re not going to go any further into what they know and what they don’t know,” he said.
He did say the call came in for an unconscious person, not a person with a stab wound.
There was also no evidence of forced entry, the chief said. Fry did admit all four victims were killed with a knife, though no weapon has been located at this time.
As of Wednesday evening, there is neither identity nor location of a suspect, Fry said.
“We cannot say there’s no threat to the community and as we have stated, please stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times,” Fry said.
Fry’s comments come just one day after the Moscow Police Department said in a news release there was no threat to the public and evidence led investigators to believe this was a “targeted attack.”
The killings and lack of information have rankled Moscow, a 25,000-strong city nestled on the Idaho-Washington border. The college town has not recorded a murder since 2015, according to state police data. Residents there are anxious and are “getting out of Dodge,” Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Mikolajczyk told the Idaho Statesman.
The father of one of the victims issued a statement Wednesday calling on police to release further information about the killings.
“There is a lack of information from the University of Idaho and the local police, which only fuels false rumors and innuendo in the press and social media,” Jim Chapin, the father of Ethan Chapin, said in the statement. “The silence further compounds our family’s agony after our son’s murder. For Ethan and his three dear friends slain in Moscow, Idaho, and all of our families, I urge officials to speak the truth, share what they know, find the assailant, and protect the greater community.”
University of Idaho President Scott Green offered condolences in a statement Monday and deferred to the police’s belief that there was no threat to the public.
“Moscow police do not believe there is an ongoing community risk based on information gathered during the preliminary investigation, however, we ask our employees to be empathetic, flexible and to work with our students who desire to return home to spend time with their families,” he said. “We do not know the investigation timeline, but we will continue to communicate to campus as we learn more.”
Green said Wednesday the university is encouraging students and employees to take care of themselves as they head into Thanksgiving break.
Blaine Eckles, university dean of students, did say there would be a candlelight vigil on November 30….