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Huff led uneventful life in WhitefishBy LYNNETTE HINTZEand JOHN STANG
The Daily Inter Lake Other than shooting a fiberglass moose in 2000, Aaron Kyle Huff’s life in Whitefish was not memorable. Huff, 28, and his twin brother, Kain, mostly flew under the local radar, not making much of an impression in the small town, despite both being 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing around 280 pounds. Huff killed himself with a shotgun Saturday morning after apparently shooting six people to death and wounding two others at a Seattle rave party. Investigators have not pinned down a motive. About five years ago Huff moved to Seattle, where the Seattle Times reported he attended the Art Institute of Seattle and North Seattle Community College while working as a pizza deliveryman. Huff and his brother were either not remembered or barely remembered by several Whitefish teachers and administrators who served in the school system in the early and mid-1990s. Nothing about either brother stuck out in their memories, they said. Whitefish High School Principal Kent Paulson said Huff “was not a name I was able to put a face to” until he saw Huff’s photograph in news reports. “Once I saw his picture I recognized him, but the general feeling of those of us who were here [when Huff attended school] is very vague,” said Paulson, who was in his first year as assistant principal when Huff and his brother graduated with the class of 1996. “He wasn’t wearing out the carpet in my office.” Huff was not involved in any extracurricular activities, he added. “At 6-5 and 250 pounds, we wish he would’ve played football,” Paulson said. The Huff brothers didn’t submit graduation photos for the class yearbook, and were voted by classmates as “least spirited.” Former Whitefish Principal Bob Lawson, who retired a year before the twins graduated, said he doesn’t remember Huff at all. “Our sentiments are with the seven families who have lost a loved one,” he said. “We’re saddened by the news.” Huff worked for a time at Stageline Pizza in Whitefish. Cheryl Frye, who owned the pizza business at that time with her husband, Bill, remembered Huff as a “quiet kid, but a good worker.” “I liked him,” she said. “We enjoyed having him work there. He gave no indication anything was wrong.” Huff’s one public ripple in Whitefish came when several life-sized moose sculptures were vandalized in 2000. Local artists had decorated the moose for a fundraiser for three nonprofit agencies: The Studio, Human Therapy on Horseback and Flathead Spay & Neuter, according to Souheir Rawlings, proprietor of the Stumptown Art Studio and a co-organizer of the 2000 “Moose on the Loose” fundraiser. One of the fiberglass moose — dubbed “Daphne” — was displayed on Wisconsin Avenue near the Pollo Grill, where it was shot several times with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .40-caliber pistol. It cost about $1,700 to repair. Throughout the incident and its disposition, Rawlings did not have any contact with Huff. A Crimestoppers tip led police to Huff for shooting Daphne. He never was linked to vandalizing the other moose sculptures. Frye remembered that Huff took the blame for a number of young people involved in the incident. “There was a bunch of them involved, but he didn’t squeal on the other kids,” Frye said. Huff originally was charged with felony criminal mischief, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor. Huff was fined $530 with $350 suspended. He also was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. The weapons used in the Seattle shooting match those involved in the moose incident, according to The Associated Press. His mother is Mary Huff, proprietor of Artistic Touch in Whitefish. The shop was closed Monday, and The Daily Inter Lake could not reach her. People in the shops surrounding hers could not remember anything specific about her sons. The Seattle Times’ Web site said the twins lived together in a Seattle apartment and were close. Both were drummers, but were careful to practice at respectful hours. The Times quoted Huff’s friends describing him as a quick wit in conversations and debates, with the twins liking to hang out with the “art and drama crowd” when they were younger. Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com |
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