On a tragic spring morning in Seattle, Washington, the life of 14-year-old Melissa L. Moore, known to her friends as "China Doll," was violently cut short. The date was March 25, 2006, and the vibrant and friendly teenager found herself at an after-party in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Melissa, a ninth-grader from Tacoma, was known for her ability to make new friends easily, a quality that had drawn her to the social gathering that night.
Earlier that evening, Melissa had
attended a zombie-themed rave. After the event, she and some new acquaintances, including 15-year-old Suzanne Thorne, made their way to a small blue house on East Republican Street for an after-party. As the early morning hours wore on and the party wound down, Melissa and Suzanne were sitting on the front porch, possibly awaiting a ride home. It was then that they tragically became the first victims of a senseless act of violence.
The perpetrator was 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff. He had also been at the rave and the after-party. For reasons that remain unclear, Huff left the house shortly before 7 a.m. and returned to his pickup truck. He armed himself with a pistol-grip shotgun and a handgun, carrying bandoliers of ammunition. He then opened fire on the unsuspecting partygoers, beginning with Melissa and Suzanne on the porch. Melissa died from shotgun and gunshot wounds. In total, Huff killed six people that morning before turning a gun on himself as police arrived at the scene. The horrific event, which became known as the Capitol Hill massacre, ended with the death of the sole suspect, leaving a community to mourn the loss of six innocent lives, including that of a young girl who "loved life, loved people."
