What we know about Idaho firefighters, sniper who ambushed them

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2 days ago

An Idaho community is reeling days after a man set a brush fire and ambushed responding firefighters, fatally shooting two and injuring a third.
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood and Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison were killed in the June 29 shooting, authorities said. Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Dave Tysdal is recovering from his injuries after two surgeries, according to Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.
"This community lost two dedicated public servants," Gabe Eckert, president of the Coeur d'Alene Firefighters' union, said at a news conference Monday. "These men were dedicated firefighters; they were dedicated to their community. These guys were hard workers who loved their families."
Officials identified the suspect, who is also deceased in an apparent suicide, as 20-year-old Wess Roley. Roley's body was discovered after a six-hour manhunt that drew a response of hundreds of law enforcement officials from local, state and federal agencies.
Here's what we know:
The firefighters responded to a call at about 1:21 p.m. on June 29 that there was a fire on the east side of Canfield Mountain near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a city of about 57,000 residents in the northwest part of the state.
At 2 p.m., firefighters broadcast there were shots fired, officials said. The shots prompted a response from hundreds of law enforcement officers, with those on the scene exchanging gunfire with the suspect, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.
'This was a total ambush," Norris said. "These firefighters did not have a chance."
Investigators used cell phone data to locate a signal that hadn't moved since about 3:16 p.m. and discovered the body of the suspect, authorities announced just after 7:40 p.m.
As the manhunt unfolded, the brush fire grew unchecked until it was deemed safe for firefighters to access, the Idaho Department of Lands said. As of the evening of June 30, it was being held at about 26 acres with no evacuations or structures at risk, the department said in an update.
The suspect, a transient with a history of "minor" run-ins with police, appeared to be living out of his car at the time of the shooting, Norris said. Investigators are still looking into a possible motive and what brought Roley to Coeur d'Alene, he said.
Past encounters with law enforcement were mostly about alleged trespassing, officials said. He came from an 'arborist family" and appeared to have fired from up a tree, Norris said.
The suspect "at one point wanted to be a firefighter," according to Norris.
"We don't know if there's a nexus between that desire and what happened," the sheriff told reporters.
Former classmates remembered Roley in interviews with USA TODAY as having "Nazi tendencies" and "obsessed with guns."
Read more.
The firefighters killed in the attack were remembered as "selfless public servants."
Harwood, 42, had been with the Kootenai agency for 17 years, according to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way. He was married with two children.
"He did an amazing job," Way said. "This loss is felt by so many."
Morrison, 52, had been with the Coeur d'Alene department since 1996, according to Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.
Eckert, of the firefighters' union, shared a recent memory with Morrison of smoking cigars on a backyard patio.
"We talked about being better fathers, we talked about being better leaders, and we talked about being better firefighters," Eckert said. "I'm so incredibly grateful that that gets to be my last memory with him."
Contributing: John Bacon, Michael Loria, Christopher Cann, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Josh Meyer and Will Carless, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What we know about slain Idaho firefighters, sniper suspect Wess Roley