Authorities in the United States identified Wess Roley, 20, as the man who started a fire on Canfield Mountain in Idaho and opened fire on responding firefighters, killing two of them.
- Norris said the victims’ families are “in a state of shock—absolutely. They’re in shock and still processing it.”
- “He wasn’t a loner,” Dale Roley said. “We had no reason to suspect he was involved in anything like this.” He also expressed hope that his grandson was not responsible for the shooting.
- A Turbulent Childhood
- Details of the Incident
- Roley was found dead in the mountainous area, next to a gun. Authorities do not rule out the possibility of more hidden weapons in the area, they said.
According to a preliminary police report, Roley intentionally started the fire last Sunday in this forested area in the northwest of the country, then ambushed the emergency response teams. The fire has already affected about ten hectares and remains active.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris provided new details about Sunday’s ambush on Canfield Mountain, north of Coeur d’Alene, a popular recreation area. According to Norris, Wess Roley lived in his vehicle, had previously aspired to be a firefighter, and had only a handful of minor prior contacts with local police.
The 20-year-old bystander attacked first responders after they asked him to move his vehicle, the sheriff said Monday. “We haven’t been able to find a manifesto,” the sheriff said, adding that the motive remains unknown.
Norris said the victims’ families are “in a state of shock—absolutely. They’re in shock and still processing it.”
Roley had started a fire with flint, and firefighters who arrived on the scene were met with unexpected gunfire. They took cover behind fire trucks, but two were killed and a third was injured during a shootout that lasted several hours.
According to Norris, Roley later took his own life. “We know he was a transient,” the sheriff said. “We know he lived here for most of 2024. But as to when he arrived here, why he was here, why he chose this place… I don’t know.”
Wess Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, said his grandson came from a family involved in tree care and had been working in that field while trying to figure out his professional future. “He wanted to be a firefighter; he worked with trees and wanted to be a wildland firefighter,” Dale Roley said. “As far as I know, he was actually looking into it.”
According to his grandfather, Wess owned a shotgun and a long rifle, though it has not been confirmed if those were the weapons used in the attack, which authorities have described as a sniper ambush.
Dale Roley added that they kept in weekly contact but had not spoken in the last month because Wess had lost his phone. He also noted that the young man had close family and friends and that last year he had traveled to Hawaii on vacation with his mother, according to social media posts.
“He wasn’t a loner,” Dale Roley said. “We had no reason to suspect he was involved in anything like this.” He also expressed hope that his grandson was not responsible for the shooting.
Public records indicate the suspect had previously lived in the Phoenix area. A website related to athletics shows he was part of a local high school team and belonged to the class of 2024.
Authorities reported on a photo posted by Wess Roley on his Instagram account. In the image, later deleted, Roley appears kneeling or sitting, dressed in dark camouflage clothing, wearing makeup and a mask, and carrying ammunition. The post included the song “Hunter” by singer Björk.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said the suspect’s social media content was removed, though it is unknown who did it. He also reported that the suspect apparently shot himself, and that before the attack, he had an “argument” with the firefighters. Norris said they are “still in the investigative process” and did not provide details about the interaction between the shooter and the firefighters.
Authorities have not found a criminal record for the 20-year-old suspect, but local police had interacted with him five times, Kootenai County Sheriff said.
A Turbulent Childhood
Court documents reveal Roley faced family difficulties in his childhood. His mother filed for divorce in September 2015, when he was 10, alleging in the paperwork that her husband had threatened her, pushed her to the ground, and “punched holes in the walls several times.”
“He threatened to sit outside my house with a sniper rifle or burn it down,” she wrote.
A judge issued a protective order to prevent the father from having contact with his wife or son, though the order was later modified to remove the child after the father’s statement, in which he claimed: “I am not a danger to my son or anyone else” and that his wife “did not tell the truth in her statement.”
The divorce was finalized in November 2015, and the mother’s home was designated as Wess’s “primary residence.”
Roley’s father spoke briefly and said he did not have a close relationship with his son, whom he had not seen since a family gathering the previous year. He did not respond to subsequent calls regarding the allegations documented a decade ago. The suspect’s mother also did not answer calls made Monday morning.
Details of the Incident
The shooting began at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time, about half an hour after the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management began containing the fire on Canfield Mountain, a natural park located east of Coeur d’Alene.
County Sheriff Bob Norris said the suspect’s cell phone was key to locating his position as a sniper, allowing authorities to neutralize the threat. The operation involved nearly 300 officers, including FBI personnel and reinforcements from other areas.
A third firefighter was also injured in the attack and is currently “fighting for his life,” the sheriff said, confirming it was “completely an ambush” and that the firefighters “didn’t stand a chance.”
Roley was found dead in the mountainous area, next to a gun. Authorities do not rule out the possibility of more hidden weapons in the area, they said.
On social media, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed gratitude to the “incredible” FBI “agents on the ground assisting local authorities in Idaho.”
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that her department is “actively monitoring” the situation in Coeur d’Alene and assured that “justice will be served.”
Idaho Governor Brad Little also spoke out, saying he is “heartbroken” over what he described as a “direct and heinous attack,” and urged state residents to “pray for” the firefighters and their families.
Image: Infobae
