WOODINVILLE, Wash. — A former standout athlete at Woodinville High School was stabbed to death near his college in Oregon in a random attack, according to the victim’s father.
Parker Moore, 20, died after being stabbed Saturday night in McMinnville, Oregon, where he attended college.
His attacker was later shot by police.
Police say Moore was stabbed repeatedly outside a 7-Eleven in McMinnville, Oregon, not far from Linfield College where he was a football player and resident adviser. Eyewitnesses said the suspect fled. But he returned to the scene armed with a knife. When he wouldn't put it down, officers said, they shot and killed him.
"I was at a loss of words, an older brother figure, no longer on this earth, it really hits you,” said Brad Roland, a former teammate of Moore who is currently a senior at Woodinville.
"Coming here tonight, it was realistic, it was real,” he added.
Roland joined at least a hundred other friends and former teammates at Woodinville Alliance Church for a vigil. Moore was remembered as a leader, as a standout athlete, and as a great friend.
"Our hearts just go out to his family, the community, Linfield, and Woodinville,” said Michelle Michael, whose daughter attends Linfield.
"It's just heartbreaking. It's senseless, and it's heartbreaking,” she added.
Linfield College president Thomas Hellie wrote a message on the school’s website.
"We are all still in shock, but we know that it is important to speak to counselors, to support each other as we mourn, and to think about and pray for Parker's family and friends," wrote Hellie. "We have lost a valued, important member of our community and all of us share in the grief."
The stabbing happened just after 11 p.m. Saturday at a 7-Eleven near campus. It wasn't clear what prompted the stabbing.
Yamhill County Sheriff's Capt. Tim Svenson said investigators don't believe the suspect and Moore knew each other or had any previous run-in, and from witness accounts, there did not appear to have been a robbery in progress. Authorities had not yet reviewed surveillance video from the store, Svenson said.
Moore, a sophomore, was flown to Oregon Health and Science University, where he died.
As investigators from the McMinnville Police Department were questioning a witness in the parking lot outside the store, the suspect returned and confronted officers with a knife, Svenson said.
"They were talking in the parking lot to a witness, and he pointed and said, 'There he is right there!'" Svenson said. "The officers commanded him to show his hands, and he presented a knife, and that's what resulted in him being shot."
The suspect's identity was not immediately released. He died at Willamette Valley Medical Center, authorities said.
Linfield is a private, liberal arts college of about 2,500 students in McMinnville, 40 miles southwest of Portland. The school said counselors were available during the day Sunday and would be available for the foreseeable future.
KIRO
