Idaho shooting: Suspect started fire, shot firefighters who asked him to move his vehicle
A man who started a wildfire and then shot two firefighters and wounded another in northern Idaho, reportedly did so after the firefighter asked him to move his vehicle.
Wess Roley has been identified as the gunman who ambushed firefighters in Idaho, killing two and injuring one.(AP)
Norris identified the suspected gunman in Sunday’s attack as 20-year-old Wess Roley, who was found dead at the scene of an apparent self-inflicted gun wound.
According to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, 20-year-old Wess Roley was asked by the fire responders to move his vehicle, Associated Press reported.
Idaho shooting | New details on suspect
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris offered new details about the Sunday confrontation at Canfield Mountain, just north of Coeur d’Alene, a popular recreation area. According to the sheriff, Wess Roley, who once aspired to be a firefighter, was living out of his vehicle and had only a few contacts in the area.
However, the motive of this killing is still not known, the sheriff said adding, “We have not been able to find a manifesto.”
Norris said families of the victims are “in shock and are still processing it.” On Sunday, Roley set a fire using a flint, and the firefighters who rushed to the scene instead found themselves under fire. While they took cover behind the fire trucks, two of them died and a third was injured as they came under a barrage of gunfire over several hours. Roley later killed himself, the sheriff said.
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Firefighters, Roley had an interaction
Sheriff Norris said that there was some interaction between Roley and firefighters about “his vehicle being parked where it was.” Roley, who had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho “for the better part of 2024,” Norris said, adding that it is still unclear why he got here or chose this place for the attack.
Two helicopters hovered over the area on Sunday, armed with snipers ready to take down the suspect, while the FBI used Roley’s cellphone data to track him and the sheriff ordered residents to shelter in place. They eventually found Roley dead in the mountains, his firearm beside him.
Roley lived in Sandpoint, Idaho, working for tree service, said TJ Franks, whom he lived with. Franks also said that his camera one day caught Roley throwing gang signs, due to which he called the police. “I didn’t know what to really think about it,” Franks said. “I just called the cops and had them talk to him.”
Franks also revealed that the landlord called him one morning as the neighbours reported that Roley’s vehicle had been left running for about 12 hours. He also said that Roley “started acting a little weird” and at one point shaved his long hair off completely.
“We just kind of noticed him starting to decline or kind of go downhill,” AP quoted him as saying.
