Two seasoned Idaho firefighters were fatally shot and a third critically injured Sunday while responding to a wildfire on Canfield Mountain, near Coeur d’Alene, in what officials are calling a shocking and unprecedented attack on public servants.

The suspect, 20-year-old Wess Roley, is believed to have started the fire and then ambushed the responding firefighters before taking his own life in the surrounding mountains.

Authorities say Roley had been living out of his vehicle in the months leading up to the attack and showed signs of mental and behavioral decline.

His former roommate, T.J. Franks Jr., who lived with Roley for six months in Sandpoint, Idaho, recalled disturbing changes in the young man’s behavior.

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“He shaved off his long hair and started to kind of go downhill,” Franks said Monday.

Franks shared incidents that raised red flags about Roley’s mental state, including his strange behavior toward apartment security cameras and leaving his car running unattended for 12 hours.

These concerns eventually led to police being contacted, although Roley had only minor previous interactions with law enforcement.

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On Sunday, firefighters responding to what was believed to be a standard wildfire call found themselves under fire shortly after arriving.

Roley had reportedly ignited the blaze using flint and parked his vehicle nearby, a detail that may have triggered a confrontation.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris stated, “There was an interaction with the firefighters. It has something to do with his vehicle being parked where it was.”

The victims were identified as Frank Harwood, 42, of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and John Morrison, 52, of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.

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Both men were highly experienced, dedicated professionals with nearly 50 years of combined service in Idaho.

Harwood, a 17-year veteran of the county fire department, was also a U.S. Army National Guard veteran.

He was married and had two children. Morrison began his career in 1996 with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and had also worked as a paramedic.

A third firefighter, 47-year-old Fire Engineer David Tysdal, sustained critical injuries but had undergone two successful surgeries by Monday.

The shocking nature of the attack has deeply shaken both departments and the wider community.

“I don’t know that we’re ever going to be able to guarantee people’s peace of mind, at least for a while after an incident like this,” said Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way.

“But we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety of our responders.”

In response to the incident, local fire departments are now pairing law enforcement with their crews for every call, regardless of the severity.

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The unprecedented move reflects the lingering fear and uncertainty that now surrounds even routine emergency responses.

The tactical response to the shooting involved helicopters with snipers on board and the FBI using Roley’s cellphone data to track his location.

Residents were ordered to shelter in place during the search.

Roley was later found dead in the nearby mountains with a firearm beside him, having died by suicide.

Despite an active investigation, authorities have yet to determine a clear motive.

Sheriff Norris noted that Roley had previously expressed an interest in firefighting, making the attack even more baffling.

“A motive was still unknown,” Norris said.

“He had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho for the better part of 2024,” although it remains unclear why he was in the area.

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The broader community has responded with grief and solidarity. On Sunday evening, mourners lined Interstate 90 holding American flags to honor the fallen firefighters as their bodies were transported to the Spokane medical examiner’s office, 35 miles away.

Governor Brad Little ordered U.S. and Idaho state flags to be flown at half-staff until after the memorial services, stating, “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.”

Mayor Woody McEvers of Coeur d’Alene echoed the widespread grief, saying, “We still are in shock and are struggling to understand why someone would target unarmed, selfless public servants.”

As the community mourns and begins the process of healing, officials confirmed that the wildfire had been “reasonably contained” by Monday afternoon, having burned approximately 26 acres.

Chief Way added that responders had successfully “stopped significant forward progress.”

This tragedy marks a somber and unsettling moment for Idaho’s emergency services and raises urgent questions about how to protect the very individuals who put themselves in harm’s way to serve others.

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