The man suspected of shooting firefighters Sunday as they responded to a brush fire in Idaho has been identified, a law enforcement official said Monday.
The suspect, who was found dead at the scene, was identified as Wess Roley, 20, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the official said.
Two firefighters were killed, and a third was seriously wounded in the attack, which took place on a mountain with popular hiking trails outside Coeur d’Alene, according to the authorities. They said the fire appeared to have been set intentionally to lure the firefighters to the scene.
Law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the shooter while the wildfire burned. Later, using cellphone signal data, officials found the body of the suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby, Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at a news conference Sunday night. The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone.
Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, said in an interview Monday that Wess had expressed interest in becoming a forest firefighter. The suspect, who turned 20 in May, moved to Idaho last year and was living in his own apartment and working for a tree company, his grandfather said.
“He was just trying to figure his life out,” Dale Roley said. “He seemed to be a little bit optimistic.”
Roley said that he was usually in frequent touch with his grandson, but that they had last spoken about a month ago because the younger man had lost his cellphone.
“It’s going to be hard to take if it was actually him,” Roley said. “We’re just hoping it wasn’t.”
Firefighters were dispatched after authorities received a phone call about a fire on Canfield Mountain, on the northeastern edge of Coeur d’Alene, at about 1:21 p.m., Norris said Sunday. It was not immediately clear who had made the call; authorities said they did not think it was the suspect.
About 40 minutes later, firefighters said that they were being shot at, the sheriff said.
As the shooting unfolded, firefighters pleaded for help, according to a feed posted on Broadcastify, a website that provides public access to emergency radio communications. One firefighter reported that they were hiding behind a firefighting rig.
More than 300 law enforcement officers from numerous agencies responded, Norris said. The FBI confirmed that its agents were there and helping local authorities.
As evening fell, authorities found the suspect’s body, and moved it off the mountain because the fire was spreading rapidly, the sheriff said.
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