Idaho shooter who ambushed firefighters responding to blaze identified

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - Idaho officials have identified the man believed to have ignited a brush fire Sunday before shooting at responding firefighters, killing two of them.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office on Monday named 20-year-old Wess Roley the main suspect in the killing of two Idaho firefighters.
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office on Monday named 20-year-old Wess Roley the main suspect in the killing of two Idaho firefighters.  © REUTERS

The suspect, who apparently took his own life, was named as 20-year-old Wess Roley on Monday by Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris.

A third firefighter was also injured in the incident, which occurred on Canfield Mountain, outside the city of Coeur d'Alene in the northwestern state.

The sheriff said Roley was originally from California and had lived in various places on the West Coast.

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"We have information that he, at one time wanted to be a firefighter, so we don't know if there's a nexus to that desire and what happened yesterday," Norris told a press conference.

The victims of the incident were identified as 42-year-old Frank Harwood and 52-year-old John Morrison, both veterans of the Kootenai County Fire Department.

The injured officer was identified as 47-year-old Dave Tysdal, who underwent two surgeries in the last 24 hours, according to Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.

The sheriff on Sunday had said the fire had been intentionally set, calling it an "ambush."

About 300 law enforcement officers were deployed to the area as the hectic scene unfolded.

There have been 189 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which it defines as four or more people shot.

Cover photo: REUTERS

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