June 30, 2025 - Suspect identified in firefighter ambush that left 2 dead and 1 injured in Idaho

Our live coverage has ended. Scroll through the posts below for the latest on the Idaho shooting investigation.

Two firefighters were fatally shot and a third is seriously injured after investigators say a lone gunman opened fire on fire crews responding to a brush fire on Canfield Mountain Sunday, near Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood and Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison were identified by fire officials as the fallen firefighters.

The injured firefighter has been identified as Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Dave Tysdal, according to fire officials.

Here’s what we know:

Frank Harwood, 42: During a press conference Monday, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said Harwood was a member of the agency for 17 years.

He was married, had two children and was a former Army National Guard combat engineer. Harwood was a leader who “did an amazing job” and was well respected, Way added.

John Morrison, 52: Morrison served with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department for more than 28 years and moved up the ranks in his department from firefighter to battalion chief, according to Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.

A colleague shared his final memory with Morrison during Monday’s press conference recalling a time when the pair smoked cigars during a rare lull at the fire station.

“We talked about being better fathers, we talked about being better leaders, talked about being better firefighters,” said Gabe Eckert, President of the Coeur d’Alene Firefighter’s union.

“These guys were hard workers. They loved their families,” Eckert added.

Dave Tysdal, 47: An engineer with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, Tysdal is recovering after undergoing two surgeries following the attack on firefighters in Idaho on Sunday, according to Fire Chief Tom Greif.

Tysdal has been an engineer with the fire department for 23 years, Grief said.

“We thank everyone for their love and support,” a family statement read by Greif said. “Dave is surrounded by his family, and he is able to open his eyes and the two surgeries have gone well.”

Coeur d’Alene Fire Department engineer Dave Tysdal.

An engineer with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department is recovering after undergoing two surgeries following the attack on firefighters in Idaho on Sunday, according to Fire Chief Tom Greif.

Dave Tysdal, 47, is currently in critical condition at Kootenai Health Hospital, Greif said during a news conference Monday. Tysdal has been an engineer with the fire department for 23 years.

“We thank everyone for their love and support,” a family statement read by Greif said. “Dave is surrounded by his family, and he is able to open his eyes and the two surgeries have gone well.”

Authorities in Idaho have identified the firefighters killed in a shooting at Canfield Mountain Sunday.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood, 42, and Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison were identified as the fallen firefighters.

During a press conference Monday, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said Harwood was a member of the agency for 17 years. He was married, had two children and was a former Army National Guard combat engineer.

Way said that Harwood was a leader who “did an amazing job” and was well respected.

Morrison served Coeur d’Alene for more than 28 and moved up the ranks in his department from firefighter to battalion chief, Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif said.

Wess Roley is seen in an undated image.

Two former classmates who attended North Phoenix Preparatory Academy in Arizona with Wess Roley, described him as a below-average student who could be friendly at times but would also isolate himself on occasion or even lash out in anger.

One former classmate recalled Roley making rude comments to a teacher. The classmate said Roley also joined the cross-country team but only showed up to one or two races in a year. “He never clicked with the main group, because he was always like way behind. He hardly ever showed up.”

Another former classmate recalled Roley getting into trouble at school a few times and said he had a journal with concerning images of weapons and hate symbols in it.

The former classmate shared a screenshot of text messages that Roley sent her years ago in which he called her an expletive and made other confusing statements. “It really freaked me out,” she said. “He would be fine and nice one minute and then he would be crazy the next.”

A third former classmate described Roley as “verbally aggressive” at times, though he said he could also be friendly and fun. “He would make us laugh so hard.” They would play with airsoft guns and video games, but sometimes “it was difficult to play with him… you would take him in doses.”

In a statement Monday, the stepfather of the suspect in the deadly shooting of two firefighters said he and his family do not understand why the incident occurred.

“We do not understand why this happened or how this came about. Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well,” the statement, released by Tony Cuchiara’s attorney, read.

Cuchiara said he and his family intend to cooperate with investigators as they also grieve amid “this heinous tragedy in our own family.”

Cuchiara also extended condolences to the families of the victims and the community.

Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris listens to a question during a press briefing on Monday.

While Wess Roley has relatives near Coeur d’Alene, it is unclear what he was doing in the area at the time of the shooting, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.

“We knew that he lived here for the better part of 2024, but as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place, I don’t know,” Norris said.

The sheriff previously described Roley as a transient who had lived in other states.

Investigators are sure that shooting suspect Wess Roley used a shotgun in his Sunday attack on firefighters, but haven’t ruled out additional firearms of different classes as the investigation continues.

“We know that there was a shotgun used, absolutely, 100 percent,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said during a Monday news conference. “We have some smaller projectiles, and we don’t know if that was a fragmentation of one of the rifle slugs or another weapon.”

Initial reports from the scene were that firefighters were taking sniper fire.

When asked if the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was able to use fragments to determine where Roley purchased the shotgun, the sheriff said they “haven’t gotten there yet.”

“We’re still processing the scene,” he said.

Authorities share a photo posted on what they say is the suspect's Instagram page during a news conference on June 30.

A now-deleted photo was posted by suspect Wess Roley on his Instagram, authorities said.

In the photo, Roley is kneeling or sitting, wearing dark camouflage, dark makeup and a mask, and also appears to be carrying ammunition. The story was shared with the song “Hunter” by Björk.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said the suspect’s social media was “wiped” but he did not know who deleted posts.

Authorities have reports that the suspect may have been shooting at first responders from a tree, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.

“We don’t believe he was in the tree at the time [he talked to firefighters], but we believe he engaged deputies from the tree,” he said.

While authorities can’t find any evidence of any type of survivalist training, he did grow up in an arborist family, where they climbed a lot of trees, Norris said.

Law enforcement personnel and members of the media attend a Kootenai County Sheriff's Office press briefing on Monday.

The suspect had “a discussion” with the firefighters who responded to the brush fire before he ultimately shot three of them, killing two, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said during a Monday news conference.

Firefighters arrived on the scene after getting a 1:20 p.m. call for a brush fire, he said. He approximated that the gunfire began at 1:50 p.m.

Norris said they are “still in the process of investigating” and didn’t provide details about the interaction between the shooter and firefighters.

The suspect in the fatal shooting of two firefighters responding to a blaze at Canfield Mountain Sunday appears to have shot himself, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.

Authorities previously said that Wess Roley was found dead and that a weapon was with him.

Officials found the deceased suspect, Wess Roley, to be in possession of a flint fire starter and believe he used it to ignite the fire that firefighters initially responded to, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said during a Monday news conference.

The wildfire is currently burning 26 acres of land and hasn’t grown, Norris said. No structures are threatened.

Containing the fire is “a slow progess,” Norris said. “It’s very difficult terrain to get assets, ground assets up there. Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is putting a lot of water on it from aerial supports, so that’s going rather well.”

IDL believes it will have a fire line, or a barrier that prevents a fire from spreading, around the blaze by nightfall on Monday, Norris said.

Upon arriving at the scene on Sunday, investigators found Roley, deceased, with a weapon nearby. The body was moved as fire encroached on the area.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris speaks during a press conference on Monday.

Authorities have been unable to find any criminal history for 20-year-old suspect Wess Roley, but local law enforcement have interacted with him five times, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.

Roley, who has lived in California, Arizona and Idaho, has no criminal record, he said.

But the Kootenai County Sheriff’s office have interacted with him three times while Coeur d’Alene Police have interacted with him twice, Norris said. All the interactions were minor, he said, saying they previously caught him trespassing and had to ask him to leave. They had also done welfare checks on him.

Authorities do not have any indication of the suspect’s motive behind the ambush-style shooting at Canfield Mountain that left two firefighters dead, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said.

The matter remains under investigation.

Norris said authorities hope an inventory of Wess Roley’s vehicle will provide insight into a possible motive. He added that it is unclear whether Roley’s desire to be a firefighter played any role in a possible motive.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris speaks during a press conference on Monday.

Deputies who responded to the Canfield Mountain ambush shooting pushed the suspect’s vehicle down an embankment to “protect life,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said during a news conference Monday.

The deputies thought it was in their best interest to push the vehicle so the suspect couldn’t get in the vehicle and flee, Norris noted.

It appears the suspect was living in the vehicle, which remains on the scene and has not been inventoried, the sheriff said.

Authorities have not found any kind of manifesto associated with or written by the suspect, said Norris.

Smoke fills the air in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, on Monday.

Firefighter Ken Hector had the day off when he got a call to fill in during a major incident on Canfield Mountain. It was an abnormal request.

“I saw that page and I didn’t know what was going on yet,” the Coeur D’Alene firefighter said.

People who were eventually sent home that night were reluctant to leave, he said, because there was still work to do.

He said he knows the two firefighters who were killed responding to the blaze, even though one works for another department, as theirs is a “tight-knit” community.

CNN caught up with Hector on Monday, a day after the firefighters were ambushed, as he helped an organization that donates to first responders in times of crisis.

“It’s not an easy day by any means,” he said.

While he and his colleagues train for incidents like this, he said, it’s not something they can expect.

“I wouldn’t have ever gone to work and thought we should be cautious about that kind of attack during a wildland fire,” he said.

The mayor and city council of Coeur d’Alene said in a statement they are “deeply mourning the senseless tragedy on Canfield Mountain” Sunday that left two firefighters dead and one injured.

“The families of the victims are foremost in our thoughts. We stand united in our love and prayers for them,” the statement read.

The city leaders asked the community to abide by the directions of law enforcement officers amid the ongoing investigation.

“We know our community has always shown respect, support, and care for our public safety personnel. We share that sentiment, as we deal with profound sorrow,” the statement continued.

Authorities plan to identify the firefighters who were killed and injured in the ambush-style shooting at Canfield Mountain during a news conference at 4 p.m. PT.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris also will be holding a news conference at 2 p.m. PT.

The sheriff will provide an update to the ongoing investigation during his news conference.

An American flag flies at half-staff outside the Coeur D'Alene Fire Department on Monday.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has ordered that flags in the state fly at half-staff to honor the firefighters killed in the ambush on Sunday.

Two firefighters were killed and one was injured after responding to a brush fire on Canfield Mountain, which authorities believe was intentionally set by a suspect who then opened fire on responding firefighters.

“The entire State of Idaho grieves the profound loss of the firefighters killed in the shocking ambush,” the governor said in a statement. “Please join Teresa and me as we continue to pray for the victims and their loved ones.”

The injured firefighter was out of surgery and in stable condition as of Sunday night, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris.