Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Killings bewilder acquaintances


Huff
 (The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

SEATTLE – A man suspected of killing six young people at a house party before turning the gun on himself lived with his twin brother in a North Seattle apartment and was described by apartment managers as very respectful.

The man, Aaron Kyle Huff, 28, committed suicide Saturday morning after firing repeatedly on young men and women who had invited him to an after-party following a “zombie rave” in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

“This would have been so far out of character,” said Jim Pickett, the assistant manager of the Town & Country Apartments.

Pickett described the brothers as “very polite. Very respectful. ‘Yessir. Yes, ma’am. Can I help you? How am I doing today?’ … You don’t find two boys as respectful as these two always were.”

The brothers moved into the third-floor apartment 4 1/2 years ago after leaving their family home in Whitefish, Mont., apartment managers said. Lt. Dave Leib, of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in Montana, identified the gunman Sunday afternoon and confirmed that Seattle police called him Saturday night to ask about Huff. Leib informed Huff’s mother Sunday afternoon that her son was dead and was a suspect in the shootings.

Seattle officials still would not release the gunman’s identity Sunday afternoon, saying only the medical examiner could give an official confirmation today.

Leib said Huff, who went by the name Kyle, was charged with felony criminal mischief in 2000 after shooting a statue of a moose with a shotgun at an art exhibit in Whitefish.

Police searched the Huff brothers’ apartment Saturday night. Pickett said he saw them remove three rifles from the apartment.

The gunman was armed Saturday with a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun and a handgun. He was wearing bandoliers of shells for the shotgun and carrying additional clips for the handgun. Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said Sunday that police also found an assault rifle, multiple “banana clips” carrying 30 bullets each, a machete and several hundred more rounds of ammunition in the gunman’s pickup.

Whitcomb said the gunman was “extremely dangerous” and it was fortunate there weren’t more victims.

Pickett said he never saw either of the brothers with weapons, but he added that they grew up in Montana, where hunting with rifles is common.

Whitcomb confirmed that a search warrant was served Saturday evening at an address on Roosevelt Way. One person was questioned and later released, Whitcomb said.

He said police were still looking for a motive.

Pickett said he saw the suspected gunman’s brother as police were conducting the search.

“He gave a look to me like ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ ” Pickett said.

Pickett described the brothers as private and good tenants. One of the brothers played drums but was very careful not to disturb neighbors.

“He was really getting pretty good. He would practice at a respectful hour between 4 and 6 and would stop at 6.”

Regina Gray, manager of Town & Country Apartments, described the brothers as her “twin teddy bears” – ideal tenants who paid their rent on time and were respectful and polite toward their neighbors.

“It’s a total shock,” Gray said. “He and his twin brother are the kindest, sweetest, gentlest people.”

Gray said Kyle Huff delivered pizzas in the area and did odd jobs. She added that he would go home to Montana to do some work for his mother from time to time.

Four young men and two young women were killed, and two people were hospitalized after the shooting Saturday morning. The victims were among about 30 young partygoers who had just attended a rave called “Better Off Undead” the night before.

Police said they invited the gunman to the after-party at a rental home in a residential neighborhood. He left the party about 7 a.m. and came back with weapons.

None of the victims had been identified by officials, but relatives and friends of Jason Travers, 32, Jeremy Martin, 26, and Christopher Williamson, 21, confirmed they were among the dead.

Martin was a resident of the house where the shooting occurred, and family members said his death had been confirmed by Harborview Medical Center. Williamson’s mother, Sandra Williamson, said she was informed of her son’s death by the King County medical examiner’s office Saturday night.

Harborview Medical Center reported the two injured were in serious condition Sunday afternoon.