A man armed with a rifle intentionally started a wildfire and then began shooting at first responders in a northern Idaho mountain community, killing two firefighters and wounding a third during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said.
A shelter-in-place order was lifted Sunday night after a tactical response team used mobile phone data to “hone in” on a wooded area where they found the suspect’s body with a firearm nearby as flames rapidly approached, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.
“We do believe that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Norris said at a late night news conference. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Sheriff’s officials said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene about 1.30pm, and gunshots were reported about half an hour later.
Investigators said the gunman acted alone.
“We believe that was the only shooter that was on that mountain at that time,” Norris said.
The sheriff said the shooter used high-powered sporting rifles to fire rapidly at first responders, with law enforcement initially unsure of the number of perpetrators involved.
The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, has been briefed on the Idaho shooting, ABC News reported.
The state’s governor, Brad Little, said “multiple heroic firefighters” were attacked while responding to the fire. “This is a heinous direct ***ault on our brave firefighters,” he wrote on Facebook. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”
Three victims were brought to Kootenai Health, said hospital spokesperson Kim Anderson. Two were dead on arrival and the third was being treated for injuries, Anderson said. The wounded firefighter was “fighting for his life” after surgery and was in stable condition, Norris said.
The scene was described as sheer pandemonium as the brush fire burned and firefighters rushed to the scene only to come under heavy fire. First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios: “Everybody’s shot up here … send law enforcement now,” one dispatch said.
Later on Sunday the bodies of the dead firefighters arrived in the nearby city of Spokane, Washington, ***ed by a procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles. Firefighters and others saluted as the vehicles p***ed by.
Though the shelter-in-place order was lifted, the sheriff’s office cautioned residents to be prepared because the fire was still burning.
Coeur d’Alene is a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington. Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking area on the outskirts of the northern Idaho city, covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails.
