BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say two firefighters were killed and another was critically wounded after they were shot while responding to a wildfire near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Here's what to know about Sunday's attack, the investigation and next steps.
Attack began with a brush fire
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said firefighters first responded to an early afternoon report of a brushfire at Canfield Mountain, a popular hiking and biking area near the outskirts of town. A man began shooting at them after firefighters asked him to move his vehicle.
Law enforcement officials responded, locking down neighborhoods nearby and trying to find the shooter in hilly terrain that had plenty of cover, with thick brush and trees and smoke from the fire nearby.
First hours were chaotic
Over the next few hours, it wasn't clear if hikers or other recreationists were stuck on the mountain, or if civilians had been injured in the shooting, Norris said. What was clear was the danger firefighters and responding law enforcement faced.
“We don’t know how many suspects are up there, and we don’t know how many casualties there are,” Norris told reporters at a Sunday afternoon news conference. “We are actively taking sniper fire as we speak.”
A spokesperson with Kootenai Health later confirmed that three patients were brought to the hospital. Two were dead by the time they arrived and a third was injured.
The names of the slain and wounded firefighters were released by fire department officials on Monday afternoon.
Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, who had been with the Kootenai County fire department for 17 years, was killed, county Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said during a news conference.
Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52, was also killed. He had worked with the department for 28 years.
Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Engineer David Tysdal, 47, was in critical condition after undergoing two surgeries.
Cellphone data helps law enforcement find the suspect
Faced with more than 17,000 square feet (1,580 square meters) of containment area, part of it burning, authorities used cellphone data to narrow their search. They identified a cell signal around 3:15 p.m. and noticed it had not changed location for some time, Norris said.
A tactical response team went to the location and found a deceased man with a weapon nearby. Officials believe the man was the shooter and that he killed himself, the sheriff said. Investigators said he acted alone.
Who was the suspect?
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.
He had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho “for the better part of 2024,” Norris said. Authorities said Monday that Roley had relatives north of Coeur d'Alene around the Priest River area and that it appeared Roley had been living out of his vehicle.
He lived with T.J. Franks Jr. for about six months in Sandpoint, Idaho, while working for a tree service, Franks said Monday. Franks had cameras in his apartment that caught Roley throwing gang signs at them one day, which worried Franks to the point that he called police.
“I didn’t know what to really think about it,” Franks said. “I just called the cops and had them talk to him.”
The landlord also called Franks one morning because neighbors reported that Roley’s vehicle had been left running for about 12 hours. Franks said Roley was asleep in his room and said he forgot about the vehicle.
Franks said 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,” he said.
The fire complicates the crime scene
The brush fire was burning close to the suspect's body on Sunday, so authorities had to “scoop the body up” before it was engulfed in flames, Norris said.
Crews were stationed around the area overnight and the sheriff said the investigation continued Monday. Norris said a full search of the area would be done to make sure no other weapons were in the vicinity.
Procession honors fallen firefighters
A procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles accompanied the bodies of the fallen firefighters as they were taken from the hospital in Coeur d'Alene to the medical examiner's office in Spokane, Washington, a neighboring city just across the state line. Another procession was planned to bring the bodies back to Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little ordered U.S. and Idaho state flags to be lowered to half-staff Monday to honor the firefighters until the day after their memorial service, saying they’ve never seen a “heinous act of violence like this” directed at firefighters.
“This is not Idaho,” Little said in a statement. “This indescribable loss is felt deeply by all those in the firefighting community and beyond.”
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This story has been updated to correct that Harwood was with the county, not city, fire department.
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Associated Press journalist Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report.
