‘They did not have a chance': Suspect's body found after two firefighters killed in US shooting ambush
He said that he was usually in frequent touch with his grandson – who moved to Idaho last year – but that they had last spoken about a month ago because the younger man had lost his mobile phone.
'He was just trying to figure his life out,' Dale Roley told the Times. 'He seemed to be a little bit optimistic.'
'It's going to be hard to take if it was actually him. We're just hoping it wasn't.'
Firefighters received the first call of a fire about 1.21pm on Sunday (5.21am Monday AEST) and came under fire almost immediately upon arriving at the scene, Norris said.
They did not know where the gunfire was coming from and made urgent calls for help on their radios: 'Everybody's shot up here ... send law enforcement now,' according to one dispatch.
The Washington Post on Monday published audio of the firefighters frantically radioing in that someone was shooting at them.
More than 300 law enforcement officers from the city, county, state and federal levels responded to the scene, including two helicopters with snipers aboard. FBI technical teams and tactical assets provided support, FBI deputy director Dan Bongino wrote on X.
Video showed smoke billowing from heavily wooded hillsides and armed responders preparing.
Norris said it appeared the alleged sniper hid in the rugged terrain and used a high-powered sporting rifle to fire rapidly at first responders. Law enforcement was initially unsure of the number of perpetrators involved.
'This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,' Idaho Governor Brad Little said on X. 'I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.'
Norris would not provide more details on weapons recovered, saying officers would likely find more guns at the scene on Monday, once the fire was extinguished.
Just as Norris' evening press conference was expected to begin, the bodies of the slain firefighters arrived in the nearby city of Spokane, Washington, escorted by a procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles. Firefighters and others saluted as the vehicles passed by.
Though the shelter-in-place order was lifted, the sheriff's office cautioned residents to be prepared because the fire was still burning.
The Idaho House Republican leadership said in a statement: 'We are horrified by the [alleged] murder of two firefighters in Coeur d'Alene, and shocked by such a vicious attack on our first responders. We are praying for them, the injured, their families and their colleagues.'
Coeur d'Alene is a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington. Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking area on the city's outskirts, covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails that lead into a national forest.
Fire was always a big concern for the region, said Bruce Deming, whose property abuts the trail system. When he noticed smoke on the ridge on Sunday afternoon, he wondered why no firefighting helicopters were responding.
When a friend texted to tell him about the shooting, he realised why he wasn't seeing aircraft: 'Because they're concerned about being shot at,' he said.
As deputies set up posts nearby, Deming pointed them to a trail that starts near his back door and leads directly to the site of the fire.
Gun ownership is widespread in the US, where the Constitution protects the rights of Americans to 'keep and bear arms'.
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