Two firefighters shot dead by sniper while tackling Idaho wildfire in 'ambush'
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Two firefighters were killed in a shooting while they responded to a wildfire in the Idaho town of Coeur d'Alene.
The pair were among a crew called out to tackle a fire on Canfield Mountain in the north-west of the US state yesterday afternoon.
Around half an hour after the group arrived, shots started to be fired at them from a thick forest.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris told a news conference that firefighters were still 'actively taking sniper fire as we speak'.
He said: 'We are prepared to neutralize this suspect who is currently actively shooting at public safety personnel.
'We are prepared to neutralize this suspect as quickly as possible.'
A SWAT team responding to the incident later found a dead man with a firearm on the mountain, and the local emergency management team confirmed one gunman was dead.
Afterwards, Norris said preliminary evidence indicated only one person was responsible for the shooting.
He described the incident as a 'total ambush', saying the firefighters who were killed 'did not have a chance'.
A third firefighter who was taken to hospital had left surgery and was in a stable condition but 'fighting for his life', the sheriff added.
Helicopters sent out to find the suspect with heat-seeking technology had struggled with the smoke from the wildfire and the presence of hikers in the area, CBS News reported.
People in the area were warned to shelter in place, while a 'strict prohibition on drone use' was ordered for the skies above the scene.
Idaho Governor Brad Little wrote on X: 'This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.'
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