Idaho firefighters ambushed by gunman, governor says
Idaho Governor Brad Little announced the attack in a statement on X Sunday afternoon. Multiple firefighters attacked in northern part of the state.
Multiple firefighters responding to a fire in northern Idaho were attacked, Governor Brad Little announced in a statement Sunday afternoon 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,' Little said on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho," Little said. "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. Teresa and I are heartbroken.
Little's statement comes after news reports that firefighters responding to a brush fire in Coeur d'Alene were ambushed by a gunman. Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Howard confirmed the attack, according to ABC News.
Someone in the woods began shooting the firefighters attacking the blaze, Howard told ABC.
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Officials are asking civilians to steer clear of the area as law enforcement and firefighters do their jobs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chrisleys reveal prison conditions, future plans after controversial Trump pardon
In one of their first interview since being released from federal prison, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley spoke out about their experience behind bars and their controversial presidential pardon. The former "Chrisley Knows Best" stars were freed about one month ago after serving just over two years of their sentences for bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. They were originally sentenced to 12 and seven years respectively, but received a pardon from President Donald Trump in May. "You don't realize how much your freedom means to you until you don't have it," Todd Chrisley told ABC News' Juju Chang. ABC News Studios' "IMPACT x Nightline: The Chrisleys: Life After Lockup" is streaming on Hulu. The couple revealed that their first post-prison meals were from Pizza Hut and Zaxby's. As for the first shower back in their own home? "It was almost like your first sexual encounter," Todd joked. The couple described difficult conditions in prison, with Todd reporting issues of black mold and asbestos at his facility in Florida. Julie, who was held in Kentucky, said she developed health problems including asthma. "I could see my health deteriorating," Julie told ABC News. The Federal Bureau of Prisons responded to the Chrisleys' claims about prison conditions, stating they operate "facilities that are safe, secure, and humane" with regulated temperatures and nutritionally adequate meals. MORE: 'Still don't believe it's real': Savannah Chrisley reacts to parents being pardoned by Trump Their daughter Savannah Chrisley, 26, emerged as their strongest advocate, campaigning for their release while also becoming legal guardian to her younger brother Grayson and niece Chloe. "I forced myself into rooms I was never invited into. I educated myself," Savannah told ABC News of her efforts to secure her parents' freedom. The pardon came after Savannah, a vocal Trump supporter, spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention. She received a personal call from the president informing her of his decision to pardon her parents. Critics questioned whether the Chrisleys deserved the pardon, noting that both a jury convicted them and an appeals court upheld the conviction. Todd defended their pardon, questioning the makeup of their jury and comparing their case to other presidential pardons. MORE: Trump's flurry of pardons include some to campaign contributors Despite their time in prison, the Chrisleys said they remain unapologetic about their lifestyle. "I don't have an apology to give you or anyone else over the money that I've made," Todd said. The couple said they're now focused on prison reform, inspired by the people they encountered while incarcerated. "I have met some amazing women. I've met some women that I will be friends with till the day that I die," Julie said. "Chrisley Knows Best" aired on USA Network from 2014 to 2023, filming mostly in Georgia and Tennessee. The family plans to return to television with a new show on the Lifetime network. Todd and Julie said they are considering relocating to Charleston, South Carolina, where they hope to convert a mansion into a hotel -- with cameras rolling. "I've always told my children that it doesn't matter what someone else's opinion is of you unless it causes you to question who you are at your core," Todd said. "No one's opinion of me has ever caused me to question who I am at the core, so I don't worry about someone else's opinion." ABC News' Karin Weinberg, Anthony McMahon and Deborah Kim contributed to this report.
an hour ago
Idaho college victims' friends recall moment they responded to home: 'You know something's wrong'
On Nov. 13, 2022, University of Idaho student Emily Alandt and her boyfriend Hunter Johnson answered a phone call from a worried friend asking them to come over. The couple and another friend walked down the street to the now-infamous 1122 King Road home in Moscow -- a walk, they told ABC News, that would change their lives. In the early hours of Nov. 13, students Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death in the girls' off-campus house. Chapin, Kernodle's boyfriend, was sleeping over at the time. Two roommates inside survived, including one roommate who told authorities in the middle of the night she saw a man in black clothes and a mask walking past her in the house, according to court documents. Alandt and Johnson, who are sharing their story for the first time with ABC News, are also speaking out in a new documentary, "One Night in Idaho: The College Murders," premiering on Amazon Prime Video on July 11. Alandt said in the documentary that she didn't expect a real problem when they headed toward 1122 King Road that morning -- that was until they saw both surviving roommates standing outside. "As soon as you get there, you know something's wrong," Johnson told ABC News. Johnson was the first to go inside -- and realizing what happened, he rushed the girls trailing him out of the home and told them to call 911. Alandt said in the documentary that her boyfriend shielded the girls from the trauma of what he found inside. Just after 11:55 a.m., they called 911 call and told the dispatcher about an "unconscious person" inside. Several girls frantically spoke to the dispatcher, saying, "She's passed out," and, "She's not waking up." You then hear Johnson on the call, using all his strength to remain calm, telling the dispatcher that Kernodle wasn't breathing. "I think most of the girls at that point were very irrational, which is a very, probably, normal thing to be feeling in that time," Johnson explained to ABC News. "You don't expect anything so terribly scary like that to ever happen in your own house." "Your brain doesn't allow you to believe things that are terrible when you've never had anything terrible before that," Alandt added. Johnson didn't tell ABC News what he saw inside the house, citing the upcoming trial. Once police arrived, "We were just placed, you know, on the street to sit down and wait," Alandt said. "We were all cold, you know, we were all scared. And we were there for a long time. And I think our brains just started to continue to spiral. You know, we watched the ambulance come -- and we watched them immediately leave." Alandt and Johnson were close friends with victims Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20. A surviving roommate has described them as the "perfect pair." "She's a blast -- never a dull moment with her," Johnson said of Kernodle. "If you're not happy, she'll make you happy. Like, somehow, she'll make you laugh. And Ethan's the same way." The other victims, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, were lifelong best friends. Goncalves was set to graduate one month after the murders. "I don't think I've ever been around her when she didn't have a smile on her face," Alandt said of Goncalves. "And it would always put a smile on all of our faces." "Her and Maddie were both super welcoming to me," Johnson added. "They, like, took me in." The shocking quadruple killings shook the small college town of Moscow and launched a nearly seven-week manhunt. In December 2022, Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time, was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania. He's charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, and a not guilty plea has been entered on his behalf. For Alandt and Johnson, while they grieve their friends, they also lean on each other to process their own trauma. "It's just a pivotal moment in your life where, you know, you see the world in pure innocence -- and that all gets ripped away from you," Alandt said. "I was fearless when I was a kid ... now I fear everything," she added. Kohberger's trial is set to begin on Aug. 18. Alandt and Johnson are expected to be witnesses for the prosecution. "I'll be there when I have to ... and when I can, I'll be there to support others," Alandt said. "We just want happiness for the [victims'] families, and we want them to come to a point where they can, you know, wake up and have a good day. And I think that trial will have a big part in that," she added. She also wants the world to remember how her friends lived their lives -- not just how they died. "They were not what happened to them," she said. "Who they are as people is so much more than the 'Idaho Four.'" Since that tragic day on King Road, Alandt and Johnson have graduated from the University of Idaho and moved in together. This experience "sticks with you forever, but you get the option to get up and choose to live a happy life," Alandt said.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Suspect who ambushed Idaho firefighters found dead after police shootout
A firefghter was fighting for his life Monday while authorities in Idaho were trying to determine why a sniper ignited a blaze then ambushed and fatally shot and killed two responding firefighters. The sniper was found dead following a shootout with police, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said. The wounded firefighter was in stable condition late Sunday, Norris said. The discovery of the shooter's body on Canfield Mountain, a popular hiking destination outside the city of Coeur d'Alene, culminated six hours of frenzied activity that saw around 300 local, state and federal officers flock to the area. It began with the suspect, who has not yet been identified by police, lighting an early afternoon fire and then shooting the first responders who came to put it out. 'This was a total ambush," Norris said at a briefing late Sunday. "These firefighters did not have a chance." One of the slain firefighters worked at Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and the other worked for the Coeur D'Alene Fire Department. The wounded firefighter also works for the Coeur D'Alene department. Authorities found the shooter's body and a nearby firearm using cell phone location data, Norris said. It's unclear how the suspect died but Norris said law enforcement responding to the shooting had exchanged gunfire with him. Gov. Brad Little said he and wife Terese were "heartbroken." "Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho," Little said in a social media post. "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." Where is Coeur d'Alene? The attack on the firefighters happened outside Coeur d'Alene, a small city in northwest Idaho about 250 miles east of Seattle. U.S. census data estimates say it has a population of over 57,000. It is located in Kootenai County, an area north of the Coeur d'Alene Native American Reservation. Kootenai borders Washington state and has a population of over 188,000, according to the latest census estimates.
