by WorldTribune Staff, June 30, 2025 Real World News
Authorities have identified 20-year-old Wess Roley as the sniper who set a brush fire to lure first-respsonders into a deadly ambush on Sunday, reports say.
Wess Roley / XThe gunman shot and killed two firefighters and left a third critically injured. He was found dead near his gun on Canfield Mountain outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Sunday evening, The Associated Press cited authorities as saying.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said it was unclear if the gunman was killed by a law enforcement officer’s bullet, or if he took his own life.
Roley’s body was pulled away from the scene just as the blaze began to spread across Canfield Mountain, reports say.
The fire was first reported at around 1.21 p.m. Two local firefighters — one from Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue — were shot and killed while investigating the scene.
A third was left “fighting for his life” after being struck and rushed to surgery, but was described as being in a stable condition on Monday afternoon.
“This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance,” Norris said.
By around 4.30 p.m., Sheriff Norris gave law enforcement the authority to shoot to kill the gunman if they were given the opportunity. He deployed two helicopters with snipers to take out the gunman.
It is believed the gunman was the only shooter in the attack ‘based on the trajectory [of the bullets] and based on the type of weapons that this individual had that we could recover,’ Norris said.
He explained that it is likely the gunman was running as he fired.
Fire department scanner calls revealed the terror the first responders faced as they arrived on the scene.
“Send law enforcement right now! There’s an active shooter zone,” one firefighter could be heard crying out. He was later heard warning his fellow firefighters, “Stop. Do not come up here. It’s clear to me that this fire was set intentionally to draw us in.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little condemned the incident as “a heinous, direct assault on our brave firefighters” and pledged full state support for the investigation.
“They answered the call to protect others and paid the ultimate price,” Little said.
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Reports: Sniper set Idaho fire, lured first-responders into deadly trap added by Editor Two on June 30, 2025
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