Idaho man who ambushed fire crews wanted to be a firefighter, sheriff says

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2 days ago

A man who lit a blaze before fatally shooting two firefighters and injuring a third in north-western Idaho was a 20-year-old transient who once dreamed of being a firefighter, authorities have said.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris offered fresh details about the Sunday confrontation at popular Canfield Mountain, just north of Coeur d'Alene.
He said Wess Roley, who was living out of his vehicle, had once aspired to be a firefighter and had only a handful of minor contacts with area police.
"We have not been able to find a manifesto," the sheriff said, adding a motive was still unknown.
Sheriff Norris said families of the victims are "in shock".
"They're still processing it," he said.
Mr Roley had sparked the fire using flint, the sheriff said, but the firefighters who rushed to the scene instead found themselves under fire.
They took cover behind fire trucks, but two died, and a third was wounded during a barrage of gunfire over several hours.
The sheriff said Mr Roley attacked the first responders after they asked him to move his vehicle.
"There was an interaction with the firefighters. It has something to do with his vehicle being parked where it was," he said.
Mr Roley later killed himself, the sheriff said.
He had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho "for the better part of 2024," Sheriff Norris said.
"But as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place — I don't know."
Two helicopters converged on the area on Sunday, armed with snipers ready to shoot the suspect if needed.
The FBI used Mr Roley's cell phone data to track him, and the sheriff ordered residents to shelter in place.
They eventually found the suspect dead in the mountains, his firearm beside him.
TJ Franks Jr, a resident of Sandpoint, Idaho, said he lived with Mr Roley for about six months while he worked for a tree service.
Mr Franks had cameras in his apartment that caught Mr Roley throwing gang signs at them one day, which worried Mr Franks to the point he called the police.
"I didn't know what to really think about it," Mr Franks said.
"I just called the cops and had them talk to him."
The landlord also called Mr Franks one morning because neighbours reported that Mr Roley's vehicle had been left running for about 12 hours.
Mr Franks said Mr Roley was asleep in his room and said he forgot about the vehicle.
He said his then-housemate "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.
Dale Roley, who lives about an hour away from Coeur d'Alene, told KXLY-TV that his grandson was an avid hiker who worked for a tree company and was interested in forestry.
The outpouring of support for the victims was swift in Coeur d'Alene, a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington.
Governor Brad Little ordered US and Idaho state flags to be lowered to half-staff to honour the firefighters until the day after their memorial service.
"All our public safety officers, especially our firefighters, bravely confront danger on a daily basis," he said in a statement.
"But we have never seen a heinous act of violence like this on our firefighters before."
AP