Wess Roley: ‘Highly strung loner’ suspected of killing two firefighters in ambush ‘wanted to be firefighter himself’
The suspected gunman behind the sniper ambush that killed two Idaho firefighters wanted to join the fire service and “really respected law enforcement,” his family says.
Wess Roley, 20, has been accused of deliberately igniting a brush fire on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon to lure first responders before opening fire with a high-powered rifle, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.
Roley’s family has since described him as a “highly-strung loner” while former classmates claimed he was “obsessed with guns” and drew swastikas in his notebooks.
Idaho SWAT teams discovered Roley’s body with a firearm about six hours after firefighters came under “active sniper fire” while responding to the blaze.
Two firefighters, Frank Harwood, 42, and John Morrison, 52, were killed and a third, Dave Tysdal, 47, was left “fighting for his life” in the hospital.
“This was a total ambush,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Here’s what we know so far:
Who is suspect Wess Roley?
During a Monday evening news conference, the county sheriff confirmed authorities believe Roley was the sole suspected gunman.
Norris said that the Californian native appeared to be living out of his car at the time of the attack and had a brief exchange with firefighters at the scene about the placement of his vehicle.
Roley had also lived in Arizona and Idaho and had previously had minor run-ins with local law enforcement but no criminal history, the sheriff added.
“Why he chose this place,” Norris said of the attack, “I don’t know.”
Roley appeared to be from an “arborist family” that climbed trees, a skill officials say was utilized by the suspect to position himself to open fire on the firefighters.
The suspect’s grandfather, Dale Roley, told NBC News that Roley knew how to use a firearm and would go hog hunting. Roley had briefly lived at his grandfather’s home in Oklahoma before moving to Idaho.
Norris said that Roley was camouflaged in a “heavy brush” and smoke and appeared to be “well prepared, they are blending in with their surroundings.” The shots appeared to come from high-powered rifles and modern sporting rifles, he added.
Roley’s family said they were stunned by the attack, claiming that the suspect had dreams of becoming a firefighter himself.
Dale Roley said his grandson “actually really respected law enforcement” and “loved firefighters.”
He said the suspect had recently been in contact with a fire department about a job, and questioned whether he “got rejected or something.”
Prior to the attack, the grandfather said that Roley was difficult to contact after he had lost his phone. “We didn’t know where he was working,” he added.
Roley was a “kind of a loner” who was “nervous” and “highly-strung,” his grandfather said.
Harry Standley, who said he went to middle and high school with the suspect and played Call of Duty with him, told USA Today that he was “obsessed with guns.”
Standley claimed that Roley had a buzz cut and his friend “saw drawings of swastikas and guns in his notebook.”
Roley’s family expressed condolences Monday for those killed and to Coeur d’Alene in general.
“There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about,” they said in a statement issued by their attorney.
Who are the victims?
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris confirmed the deaths of Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood on Monday.
Morrison served the town of Coeur d’Alene for over 28 years, according to Chief Tom Grief.
Harwood, an ex-Army National Guard combat engineer, served the fire department for 17 years, according to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way. He is survived by a wife and two children.
Another Coeur d’Alene firefighter Dave Tysdal is “fighting for his life” after coming out of two successful surgeries, he added.
“Dave is surrounded by his family, and he is able to open his eyes and the two surgeries have gone well,” Tysdal’s family said in a statement.
A procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles accompanied the bodies of the victims from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane, Washington, on Sunday evening to honor the two local firefighters killed in the line of duty.
How did the attack unfold?
Firefighters were dispatched to Canfield Mountain around 1:21 p.m. after deputies received a 911 call from a man reporting a fire.
Just after 2 p.m., first responders were taking on “sniper fire,” Norris said. 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.
At about 6:30 p.m., agencies were told the situation remained an active shooter scenario and the suspect needed to be neutralized quickly.
Authorities learned of the dead suspect at about 7.40 p.m. Sunday after a tactical response team tracked a cell phone signal which had been in the same location since 3.16 p.m. Roley was found with what officials later described as a shotgun by his side.
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.
By Monday, a law enforcement officer identified Roley and told Associated Press that the suspected gunman was behind the “ambush.”
The Nettleton Gulch fire burned for a second day Monday and was contained at 26 acres by the evening.
What happens next?
Authorities said that they contained the scene where the suspect was found on Sunday, as fire crews continued to battle the Nettleton Gulch Fire into Monday evening. No structures were lost in the fire, Norris said.
An investigation continued through Monday, as investigators pored over the crime scene. Authorities said they expected to find more weapons left at the scene.
Norris said officials had identified a motive for the attack, nor found a manifesto by Monday evening. They are looking into whether Roley applied for any fire department positions or visited local firehouses. No manifesto was found, and officials don’t yet know of a motive, Norris added.
