Idaho shooting suspect who killed fire dept officials wanted to be a firefighter

US: Idaho shooting suspect identified as Wess Roley killed two firefighters trying to douse the fire on Sunday (June 29). According to initial reports, the 20-year-old set a bush fire and then shot at the first responders. Talking to news outlet CNN, his grandfather said that he was looking to switch from his family’s tree service business to a career in wildland firefighting.

“He wanted to be a fireman — he was doing tree work and he wanted to be a fireman in the forest. As far as I know, he was actually pursuing it,” said Dale Roley.

Read More: Idaho firefighter ambush: Authorities confirm identity of the suspect

While talking to the media, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said that firefighters were responding to a 911 call about a brush fire on Canfield Mountain when a gunman opened fire on them. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters didn’t have a chance.”

Norris highlighted Roley did not have a criminal record, but police in the area had interacted with him several times for trespassing calls, as it appeared he may have been living in his car and sometimes parked on private property. The sheriff mentioned that Roley was always cooperative during these “very minor” incidents, and prima facie did not merit any mental health interventions.

Reacting to the fatal incident, Idaho Govenor Brad Little said in a statement expressed, “The entire State of Idaho grieves the profound loss of the firefighters killed in the shocking ambush in North Idaho. All our public safety officers, especially our firefighters, bravely confront danger on a daily basis but we have never seen a heinous act of violence like this on our firefighters before. This is not Idaho. This indescribable loss is felt deeply by all those in the firefighting community and beyond.
Please join Teresa and me as we continue to pray for the victims and their loved ones.”