Idaho firefighters responding to a call were fatally shot. Here’s what we know
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — An armed man ambushed and killed two firefighters and wounded a third in northern Idaho after intentionally setting a brush fire to lure them to the scene, police said.
Police on Monday named Wess Roley, 20, as the suspect in the attack. He was found dead late on Sunday, according to law enforcement.
Smoke from the fire was still hanging in the air in the Coeur d’Alene neighborhood where Debbie Essman lives. She said she watched the fire burn on Canfield Mountain from her driveway during a shelter-in-place order on Sunday.
Essman said everyone is shocked by the act of “some evil person.”
It happened in a wooded area in Coeur d’Alene
The forested foothills are full of pine and fir trees and the area is a popular mountain park for hiking and biking.
As of 5 p.m. EST Monday, the fire had burned 26 acres of land and is not growing, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said in a press conference.
How it unfolded
Norris said authorities believe the blaze was deliberately set to lure in firefighters. “We do believe the suspect started the fire, it was an ambush and it was totally intentional,” he said at a Sunday news conference. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
The two firefighters killed were from the Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County departments, he said. The third firefighter who was shot was “fighting for his life” after undergoing surgery, the sheriff said Sunday.
Norris said a sniper armed with a high-powered rifle concealed himself in the rugged terrain as he carried out the attack. The sheriff instructed deputies to return fire, noting the gunman appeared “well prepared” for the landscape. Authorities believe the man was the sole shooter on the mountain at the time.
Using the signal to pinpoint the location, SWAT officers later discovered the body of the suspect with a weapon found nearby, he added. The sheriff did not provide any details about how the suspect died.
Posting on X, Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the incident “a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.” Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked “our incredible @FBI agents on the ground assisting local authorities in Idaho.”
The suspect
Norris said Monday that local law enforcement has had five encounters with Roley, but said there is no evidence he has a criminal record. One of the interactions involved trespassing, and Roley left when he was asked. Another time, authorities were conducting a welfare check on him.
A flint starter was in Roley’s possession, Norris said.
Law enforcement has Roley’s car, which Norris said deputies pushed over an embankment so Roley couldn’t return to it and flee. Norris said there was a lot of debris in the car, suggesting he could have been living in it.
What’s next in the investigation
No motive for the ambush has been established yet, Norris said on Monday. He added the sheriff’s office did receive information that the suspect wanted to be a firefighter at one point. Officials have checked to see if local fire departments have any applications on file for Roley, but have not found any. “We’re still processing the scene, and it’s going to take a few days to do that, especially with the current fire that’s there,” Norris added.