BOISE - One of the victims in Saturday’s senseless attack that, the Boise police chief simply called "pure evil," is sharing his story of the hell he endured that night.
Eight-year-old Zine Mutlak is out of the hospital recovering after he was stabbed in the stomach.
“The man stabbing the people was hiding,” he said. “Then he popped up and I was in front of my aunt he just came to me and stabbed me in my belly. Then he went to her, made her fall on the ground, then he stabbed her lots of times and I heard her yelling.”
Zine says that’s when the chaos erupted. He was trying to find his mother to get help, and at the same time children were running to the spot where he and his aunt had just been attacked.
“When they saw him running to them they started running back, and my mom stayed there then everyone started running then my mom started running,” he said. “He was outside. My mom went to go see my aunt. That guy saw her then he stabbed her on her neck.”
Zine went into his house along with two of his cousins, called his dad who told him to call the police.
“I said, ‘Somebody is stabbing people in the apartment,’ then they said, ‘They're already on their way.’”
Zine's brother Siraj also saw the attack unfold. He was nearby with another group of kids.
“He came running after us,” Siraj said. “Then I ran into my friend's house, we locked the door we went [to] the closet and peeked out the window. and I saw him stab some people. “We hid in the closet with my friends then we called the police and then the police told us when should we come out.”
When the attack was over, Zine and the other eight victims were taken to the hospital. The brothers say they were relieved when help arrived, but they are still afraid.
“I was just sad,” Zine said. “And my belly just started hurting that time because it was right where he stabbed me.”
“I thought something will happen to my mom and sister and everybody,” Siraj said.