Post by : Meena Ariff

Photo: Reuters

A 20-year-old man in Idaho, named Wess Roley, shot at firefighters in a shocking attack on Sunday. Two firefighters, Frank Harwood and John Morrison, were killed. Another firefighter, Dave Tysdal, was injured but is in stable condition.

The shooting happened on Canfield Mountain, just north of Coeur d'Alene. Police say Roley set a fire on purpose to lure firefighters there so he could attack them. The reason for his actions is still not clear.

After hours of searching and gunfire, police found Roley dead near the scene. Officers believe he shot himself.

The local sheriff shared that Roley once dreamed of becoming a firefighter. His grandfather said Roley respected law enforcement and had tried to get a job with a fire department. “He loved firefighters,” his grandfather said. “It doesn’t make sense that he would shoot them. Maybe he got rejected or something.”

Police said Roley was homeless and living in his vehicle. Before the shooting, firefighters had asked him to move his parked car because it was in their way. Investigators found a flint near his body and believe he used it to start the fire.

“This was a total ambush,” the sheriff said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”

The deadly incident began when people reported a fire in the mountainside area around 1:21 pm local time. Just 40 minutes later, reports came in saying firefighters were being shot at. The fire, called the Nettleton Gulch Fire, grew to 26 acres but did not damage any buildings. Officials hoped to put it out by Monday night.

Over 300 law enforcement officers from different agencies rushed to the scene. Two helicopters with snipers were also used to find the shooter. Officers said Roley used a high-powered rifle to fire quickly at the first responders. At first, police thought there might be more than one shooter because of the rapid gunfire.

A shotgun was found at the scene along with bullets and fragments, and officers believe more weapons might still be hidden on the mountain.

Police tracked Roley’s mobile phone to find him on a busy hiking trail that many people were using that day. Officers said he had shot himself before they reached him.

Roley had moved to Idaho from Arizona in 2023 to work for his father’s tree-trimming company. Police said he had five minor run-ins with them since arriving in Idaho, including being caught trespassing at a restaurant.

To stop him from escaping, officers disabled his vehicle and pushed it off the mountain road. They also flattened the tires of several fire trucks so he could not steal them to drive away.

Flags were flown at half-staff across Idaho on Monday to honor the two firefighters who lost their lives in this tragic attack.