‘Horrified’ Idaho community reels from sniper attack that killed firefighters | Idaho

While a forest fire began to sow panic in a small mountain community in the north of Idaho, a group of firefighters rushed to turn off the fire found themselves in an unexpected shooting.

A man who had intentionally set fire to embusing the crew on Sunday was perched in a sniper position, pulling on firefighters. They hid behind fire trucks, but two died and a third was injured in a fire dam for several hours, the authorities said.

The first stakeholders made urgent calls for help on their radios at Canfield Mountain just north of the heart of Alene: “Everyone fired here … Send the police now”, according to One Dispatch.

Two helicopters converged in the area, armed with elite shooters ready to withdraw the suspect if necessary, while the FBI used the data from his mobile phone to follow him and the sheriff ordered residents to rise in place. They finally found the suspect who died in the mountains, his firearm next to him.

We do not know how he died and the authorities have not yet revealed a reason.

The suspect was identified as Wess Roley, a law enforcement official at the Associated Press said on Monday. The manager spoke under the cover of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss the investigation.

“We believe that the suspect triggered the fire, and we think it was an ambush and that it was intentional,” said Kootenai County sheriff, Bob Norris, at a Sunday evening press conference. “These firefighters had no chance.”

The injured firefighter “was fighting for his life” after surgery and was in a stable state, said Norris.

“When you have an environment where you do not know where the bullets come from because of trees and shrubs and what to do, it is intimidating for the police, not to mention the firefighters,” said Norris.

The support of support was rapid at the heart of Alene, a city of 55,000 inhabitants near the border with Washington.

A few hours after the ambush, people gathered along the Interstate 90 holding American flags to pay tribute while the two bodies of the female firefighters were taken to the office of the medical examiner in Spokane, Washington, about 35 miles (56 km) of Alene’s heart.

Governor Brad Little on Monday ordered us that state and Idaho flags are lowered to half of the staff to honor firefighters to the day after their commemorative service.

“All our public security officers, in particular our firefighters, courageously confront the danger daily, but we have never seen an act of heinous violence like this on our firefighters,” he said in a statement. “It’s not Idaho. This indescribable loss is deeply felt by all those in the fire-fighting community and beyond. ”

The republican management of Idaho House said in a statement: “We are horrified by the murder of two firefighters at the heart of Alene, and shocked by such a vicious attack against our first stakeholders. We pray for them, the wounded, their families and their colleagues. ”

Although the order of the refuge on the spot was lifted, the sheriff’s office warned the residents to prepare because the fire was still burning. Fire status was not immediately known on Monday morning.

Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and bicycle area on the outskirts of the heart of Alene, covered with heavy trees and brush and intertwining of trails that lead to a national forest.

Fire is still a concern for the region, said Bruce Deming, whose property results in the trail system. When he noticed smoke on the ridge on Sunday afternoon, he wondered why no helicopter to fight fires responded.

When a friend sent a text to tell him about the shooting, he realized why he did not see planes. “Because they care about being slaughtered,” he said.

While the deputies installed nearby posts, Deming pointed them to a path that begins near its background and leads directly to the fire site.

“I just don’t want to have to wake up in the middle of the night to understand if someone is prowling around my home,” he said.