Wess Roley Arrested; – A man armed with a rifle started a wildfire and then began shooting at first responders in a northern Idaho mountain community, killing two firefighters and wounding a third during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said.
A shelter-in-place order was lifted Sunday night after a tactical response team used cellphone data to “hone in” on a wooded area where they found the suspect’s body with a firearm nearby as flames rapidly approached, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.
The suspect has been identified as Wess Roley, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Monday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
“We do believe that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Norris said at a Sunday night news conference. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Sheriff’s officials said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, and gunshots were reported about a half hour later.
Three victims were brought to Kootenai Health, hospital spokesperson Kim Anderson said. Two were dead on arrival and the third was being treated for injuries, Anderson said. The wounded firefighter was “fighting for his life” after surgery and was in stable condition, Norris said.
The scene was sheer pandemonium as the brush fire burned and firefighters rushed to the scene only to come under heavy fire. First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios: “Everybody’s shot up here … send law enforcement now,” according to one dispatch.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little said “multiple” firefighting personnel were attacked.
“This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” Little said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”
Norris said it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle. He said he instructed deputies to fire back
