GhLinks Media
The sniper who lured hundreds of firefighters into a deadly ambush last night has been named as Wess Roley.
Roley was found dead near his gun on Canfield Mountain outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Sunday evening.
He slaughtered two firefighters, who haven’t been named, and left a third critically-ill after starting a brush fire cops fear was used to bait the fire department.
Roley was identified by a law enforcement official who spoke with the Associated Press on Monday on the condition of anonymity.
No further biographical information including his age, profession, a possible motive, or a photo has been given.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said on Sunday it was unclear if the gunman was killed by a cop’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.
The fire was first reported at around 1.21pm. Two local firefighters – one from Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue – were shot and killed while scoping out the scene.
A third was left ‘fighting for his life’ after being struck and rushed to surgery, but is now described as being in a stable condition.
‘This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance,’ Norris said on Sunday.
The scene was sheer pandemonium as the brush fire burned and firefighters rushed to the scene only to come under heavy fire.
By around 4.30pm, 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, as he announced ‘there is no threat to the community at this time.’
The suspect’s motive for the shooting remains unclear. An investigation into the shooting will continue today, where Norris said he expects to find more weapons that were left at the scene.
Harrowing 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.
‘Everybody’s shot up here!’ the firefighter continued, noting that two battalion chiefs were ‘down’ and he was ‘pinned.’
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,’ the firefighter claimed.
On Sunday evening, the two firefighters killed were transported from Kootenai Health to Spokane, Washington.
A procession of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks followed them to pay their final respects.
Locals paid tribute at overpasses across the highway, some waved flags while others saluted the procession of vehicles.
The firefighters were ultimately forced to pull back, with Northern Lakes Fire District Chief Pat Riley telling KHQ he would not be deploying any more crew members until the threat was neutralized.
Meanwhile, the blaze continued to grow to cover 20 acres and the gunman kept shooting.
