A 20-year-old Idaho man who fatally shot firefighters after luring them into an ambush as soon as dreamed of changing into a fireman himself, police say.
Two firefighters, Frank Harwood and John Morrison, had been killed and a 3rd, Dave Tysdal, was injured after Wess Roley shot at them as they arrived at a blaze at Canfield Mountain, simply north of Coeur d’Alene, on Sunday, officers say.
Authorities say Roley intentionally lit the hearth to ship emergency companies to the realm. The motive for the assault stays unclear.
After an hours-long standoff, a police Swat group found a lifeless man – recognized as Roley – near the place the assault befell.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris instructed a information convention on Monday that Roley had as soon as aspired to be a fireman.
The suspect’s grandfather additionally instructed NBC Information his grandson had “really actually revered regulation enforcement”.
Dale Roley mentioned his grandson “had been in touch to get a job with a hearth division”, and “needed to be a part of a group that he kind of idolised”.
“He beloved firefighters,” mentioned Mr Roley. “It did not make sense that he was taking pictures firefighters. Perhaps he received rejected or one thing.”
Sheriff Norris mentioned the homeless suspect had attacked fireplace crews after they requested him to maneuver his car, which he had been dwelling in.
“There was an interplay with the firefighters,” Norris mentioned. “It has one thing to do along with his car being parked the place it was.”
Investigators consider Roley used a flint that was discovered close to his physique to intentionally begin the hearth.
“This was a complete ambush,” Norris instructed reporters. “These firefighters didn’t have an opportunity.”
One firefighter who was killed labored for town’s fireplace service, whereas one other labored for Kootenai County Fireplace and Rescue.
A 3rd was “combating for his life, however is in secure situation”, Norris added.
Idaho’s governor ordered flags be flown at half-staff on Monday to honour the firefighters who had been killed.
The primary report of a fireplace within the mountainside group was made round 13:21 PST (20:21 GMT), which was adopted 40 minutes later by stories firefighters had been being shot at, Norris mentioned.
The so-called Nettleton Gulch Fireplace grew to 26 acres and continued to burn on Monday, Norris mentioned. No constructions are threatened, and officers hope to have the blaze extinguished by Monday evening.
Greater than 300 regulation enforcement officers from metropolis, county, state and federal authorities responded to the taking pictures, together with two helicopters with snipers on board.
Norris mentioned authorities believed the suspect used a high-powered rifle to fireplace quickly at first responders, with officers initially not sure of the variety of assailants concerned.
A shotgun has been recovered, and a number of other bullets or fragments probably from a rifle have been discovered. Officers say extra weapons could also be hidden on the mountain.
After an hours-long barrage of gunfire, the suspect was discovered by tracing his cell phone on the favored mountaineering path, which officers mentioned was being utilized by lots of on that Sunday afternoon.
“It seems that he shot himself,” Norris instructed journalists.
The sheriff mentioned the suspect had had 5 “very minor” interactions with police since transferring to Idaho in 2024. He mentioned that in a single case, he was discovered to be trespassing at a restaurant by police.
With a purpose to forestall the suspect from fleeing, officers disabled his car and “pushed it off the mountain”, the sheriff mentioned. They haven’t but been in a position to entry the car for a extra thorough search.
A number of fireplace division autos additionally had their tyres flattened to stop the suspect from driving away in one in all them throughout the chaotic manhunt.
Norris dominated out the suspect having “any nexus to Islamic jihad”, which he mentioned had been falsely steered on social media.
In keeping with a social media submit from his mom, the suspect moved from Arizona to Idaho in 2023 to work for his father’s tree-trimming firm.
She wrote in October 2024 that her son was “doing nice dwelling in Idaho”.
