Two killed in Idaho shooting ambush on firefighters
First responders faced barrages of gunfire over several hours in an attack the governor called a 'heinous' assault.
Crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain, near Coeur d'Alene, around 1.30pm local time (9.30pm BST) and gunshots were reported about a half hour later, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said.
Police do not know the number of assailants or the full extent of the casualties.
'We don't know how many suspects are up there, and we don't know how many casualties there are,' Sheriff Bob Norris told reporters.
'We are actively taking fire sniper as we speak.'
People are still coming off the mountain, the sheriff said, so it 'would be safe to assume' that others are still up there.
Governor Brad Little said 'multiple' firefighters were attacked.
'This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,' Mr Little wrote on X.
'I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.'
The sheriff's office in neighbouring Soshone County said on Facebook that authorities were 'dealing with an active shooter situation where the shooter is still at large'.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
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Idaho murders fanatics are calling for the resignation of the ageing prosecutor who offered Bryan Kohberger a plea deal. Kohberger, 30, was due to face a capital murder trial in August for the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. But Latah County prosecutors have offered Kohberger a deal that will see him spared the death penalty in return for a guilty plea for the slayings and life behind bars without the prospect of parole, it was announced Monday. Prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson, who brokered the plea bargain, was slammed by one victim's family after he 'decided to play God and decide what this man's decision should be' instead of leaving it up to a jury. Thompson has now come under fire by local Idahoans and crime fanatics alike, with several urging Latah County to replace him. The ageing Democrat, who is listed as being either 68 or 72 according to publicly-available records, has served as Latah County Prosecutor since 1992. Although it is unclear why Thompson agreed to the plea, removing the possibility of a death sentence off the table, some suggest it is because the 'prosecution was in over their heads'. Others suspect Thompson, whose reported $118,380 salary is nearly double the county average, wanted to avoid a lengthy trial and multi-year appeal process. It has also been speculated that the Kohberger trial may have delayed his plans to retire and that he did not want to handle a monster case in the twilight of his career. The Daily Mail has approached him for further comment on the plea deal. Colton Bennett, a Republican Army veteran who is running for state representative in Idaho's 2026 election, led the calls for Thompson's ousting overnight. He branded the prosecutor as 'radical' and urged Latah County lawyers who are interesting in replacing Thompson to 'reach out to our candidate recruitment chair'. 'We will help you get elected,' Bennett, a precinct committeeman for the Latah County Republican Party, added. Bennett's call was echoed by several true crime fanatics who took to social media to express their disgust by Thompson's move. 'There's nothing worse than self-serving prosecutors, like Idaho's Bill Thompson, who don't give a damn about justice,' one X user wrote. 'They only care about clearing cases in the way that's easiest and cheapest for them.' Another added: 'He is old and probably did not want to have to stay in Boise for the duration of the trail. So disgraceful.' Others branded the plea offering as a 'chicken s*** move' that they allege is not in line with what the victims' families want. 'There was no reason to offer a plea in this case,' one social media user wrote. 'State didn't want it, parent didn't want it, community didn't want it. This liberal piece of s*** wanted it.' The Goncalves and Kernodle families have both publicly blasted the plea bargain, claiming that it offers them no justice. But Madison Mogen's father says their family finds some comfort in the plea deal because it allows them to avoid a trial that will reopen the wounds they have already started trying to heal. Some social media users have rushed to Thompson's defense, claiming a plea deal is in the best interest of all parties involved in the case. 'He actually made the right call for once. The prosecution was in over their heads and the possibility AT could introduce reasonable doubt was too high. It's already cost a fortune too, one wrote. 'Death penalty would give a lifetime of appeals and costs associated with it. The families would be in constant turmoil following appeals. This way it can be brought to an end,' echoed another. One X user added: 'I think he made the right decision. The families may feel disappointed, but the appeals would have dragged on for years & years. 'Hope they come to realize the wisdom of skipping all that. Now the families can spend less time focused on him, and more time on healing themselves.' There is still a small chance the plea deal could be rejected during Wednesday's hearing. If that happens, the full trial will move ahead as planned from August 18. In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea. Bennett branded the prosecutor as 'radical' and urged Latah County lawyers who are interesting in replacing Thompson to 'reach out to our candidate recruitment chair' Prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' a letter to the victims' families that was signed by Thompson and his deputy Ashley Jennings said. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. 'Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.' The deal offered by Latah County prosecutors would have the former criminology graduate student plead guilty to the murders and a burglary charge, in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday, but the Goncalves family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger's trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho. The defense team had previously made unsuccessful efforts to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger's autism diagnosis made him less culpable. Thompson has now come under fire by local Idahoans and crime fanatics alike, with several suggesting he offered the plea because the 'prosecution was in over their heads' Investigators allege Kohberger slipped into the Goncalves, Chapin, Kernodle and Mogen's home undetected at around 4am on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, about 9 miles west of the University of Idaho. He was arrested at his parents' Pennsylvania home weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings. In a court filing, Kohberger's lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. Kohberger's guilty plea is expected to be formalized during a hearing Wednesday, and is intended to spare him from facing the death penalty, the Goncalves family said in a statement shared by their lawyer Shannon Gray. 'After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims' families on the plea's details,' the family wrote. Some social media users have rushed to Thompson's defense, claiming a plea deal is in the best interest of all parties involved in the case The Goncalves family had demanded the death penalty, and successfully advocated for the passage of a new law in Idaho which allows death row inmates to be executed by firing squad. On a Facebook page, the Goncalves family expressed bitter heartbreak, calling the prosecution's pending plea deal 'shocking and cruel' after years of waiting for the trial to begin. 'Bryan Kohberger facing life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,' the victim's 18-year-old sister Aubrie Goncalves wrote. 'Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims' pasts.' Xana Kernodle's aunt was also reportedly so enraged by the plea deal that she was brought to tears. Kim Kernodle explained to TMZ that prosecutors told her Kohberger's defense team approached them with a plea deal over the weekend and prosecutors agreed to go along with it to 'spare the families' the pain of a trial. She claimed the prosecutors were especially concerned that the families would have to see gruesome crime scene photos of their loved ones - though Kernodle said, 'We know the graphics. They were not trying to spare us.' Kernodle also claimed that prosecutors did not mention they were taking death penalty off the table when they met on Friday, when she said prosecutors acknowledged they have enough evidence to secure a guilty verdict. The route allegedly driven Bryan Kohberger allegedly drove on the night of the brutal Idaho murders, based on cellphone data The extraordinary picture taken hours after the alleged crime shows Kohberger smirking and offering a 'thumbs up' to the camera Gray confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it. The families spoke with the prosecution on Friday about the idea of a plea deal and they explained they were firmly against it. By Sunday, they received an email that sent them 'scrambling,' and met with the prosecution again on Monday to explain their views about pushing for the death penalty. A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the Goncalves family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger's trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho.
