Idaho fire shooting: Firefighters lured into ‘sniper ambush’ as suspected gunman found dead
The suspected gunman behind a sniper ambush that killed two Idaho firefighters and critically wounded a third has been found dead.
Idaho SWAT teams discovered a body with a firearm on the east side of Canfield Mountain – a popular hiking spot near Coeur d’Alene – on Sunday evening, hours after firefighters came under “active sniper fire” while responding to a brush fire.
“This was a total ambush,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said in a Sunday evening news conference. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
The blaze, named the Nettleton Gulch fire, had engulfed around 20 acres by the early hours of Monday morning, with crews unable to access the fire until the area was deemed safe.
Here’s what we know about the attack, the wildfire and what happens next:
Firefighters ‘lured into ambush’
Firefighters were dispatched to Canfield Mountain around 1:21 p.m. after deputies received a 911 call from a man reporting a fire.
Authorities initially said they were unsure if the caller was the shooter as police probed whether the fire was intentionally set to draw emergency personnel to the area.
About 40 minutes later, just after 2 p.m., first responders were taking on “sniper fire,” Norris told reporters on Sunday afternoon.
Firefighters pleaded for support after two of them were shot, according to an emergency radio communications feed posted by Broadcastify.
Officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter as around 300 local and federal law enforcement officers descended on the scene while the fire continued to spread rapidly through the mountainside.
A Department of Homeland Security helicopter was seen among the law enforcement assets arriving on the scene, alongside armored vehicles and numerous SWAT police.
Neighborhoods near the hiking area were locked down, with hikers ushered off the mountainside.
During a 4.30 p.m. press conference, Norris said the number of shooters and casualties remained unclear. “We are actively taking fire sniper as we speak,” he said.
At about 6:30 p.m., agencies were told the situation remained an active shooter scenario and the suspect needed to be neutralized quickly.
Norris concluded that the suspect is believed to have set the fire deliberately to lure firefighters into “an ambush.”
What do we know about the suspect?
The suspected gunman was camouflaged in a “heavy brush” and smoke and appeared to be “well prepared, they are blending in with their surroundings,” Norris said.
The shots appeared to come from high-powered rifles and modern sporting rifles, he added, initially believing the gunfire to be coming from multiple positions.
Authorities learned of the dead suspect at about 7.40 p.m. after a tactical response team tracked a cell phone signal which had been in the same location since 3.16 p.m. The deceased man was found with a firearm nearby.
“We have one dead shooter,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said at a Sunday evening press conference, assuring the public there was no ongoing threat to the community.
“Based on the trajectory and based on the type of weapons that this individual had that we could recover, we believe only the one shooter.”
Norris said that authorities acted quickly to “scoop up” the suspect’s body before it was consumed by the fast-moving fire.
Shelter in place orders for Canfield Mountain Trailhead and the surrounding areas were lifted following the discovery of the body, though an active wildfire remained on Canfield Mountain.
Who are the victims?
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris confirmed the deaths of a firefighter from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from the Kootenai County Fire and Rescue during a Sunday evening press conference.
A third Coeur d’Alene firefighter is “fighting for his life” after coming out of surgery, he added. Officials said that they will not identify the victims to the public.
A procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles accompanied the bodies of the victims from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane, Washington, to honor the two local firefighters killed in the line of duty.
What happens next?
Authorities said that they contained the scene where the suspect was found, with law enforcement officers on the ground through the night.
Fire crews, however, continued to battle the Nettleton Gulch Fire into Monday morning, which the Idaho Department of Land said had scorched about 20 acres.
Firefighting efforts to contain the blaze were delayed by an exchange of gunfire. No structures were lost in the fire, Norris said.
An investigation is set to continue Monday morning, with authorities expected to start piecing together details about the dead man found and the cause of the fire.
Norris pointed to the need for additional searches “once the fire threat diminishes” before authorities release information about the weapon found near the alleged shooter.
“We don’t know if there are more weapons up there that he had,” the sheriff said. “There is a belief that he ran and shot.”
What have officials said?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to The Independent Sunday that the “DHS is actively monitoring the scene in Coeur d’Alene.”
“Pray for Idaho’s first responders,” she added. “Justice will be served.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on X that he had deployed “assets” to “provide tactical and operational support.”
Idaho officials condemned the violence and prayed for the safety of the wounded and the first responders at the scene.
Idaho Governor Brad Little shared his heartbreak as he lambasted the “heinous” attack on the firefighters.
“Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho,” he said. “This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more. Teresa (Little) and I are heartbroken.”
“My prayers are with victims and first responders,” Senator Mike Crapo tweeted Sunday evening.
