2 dead in ‘ambush’ on Idaho firefighters responding to blaze, sheriff says
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Two people were fatally shot Sunday afternoon in northern Idaho after firefighters responding to a vegetation blaze on a mountain were ambushed, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said.
The fire was still burning and authorities were “actively taking sniper fire” as of Sunday afternoon, Norris said at a news conference. An unknown number of people are injured, and hikers are trapped on the mountain as the shooting continues, he added.
Authorities do not know how many gunmen are involved in the attack, Norris said, adding that he thinks the two people killed were firefighters.
“We don’t know who the suspects are,” Norris added. “ … We don’t know if there’s one, two, three, or four [shooters].”
Norris said the gunfire appears to be from at least one “high-powered rifle” and that responders are taking “rapid fire.”
“This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” Gov. Brad Little (R) said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”
The incident began as firefighters with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and the Northern Lakes Fire District responded to the vegetation fire on Canfield Mountain, a popular hiking area in Coeur d’Alene, said Fire Chief Pat Riley, of the Northern Lakes Fire District.
Around 2 p.m., the firefighters reported being attacked by gunfire, Norris said.
Authorities are working to suppress the gunfire before evacuating first responders, hikers and civilians who live on the mountain, Norris said.
The Kootenai County Emergency Management office asked people in the Canfield Mountain area to shelter in place and warned residents to avoid the area. Norris warned the situation could develop into a “multiday operation.”
“I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralize [the suspect] because they are not, at this point in time, showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,” Norris said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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I can't wait to see where this one leads.
Arvo with a bit of luck the shooter/s ends up dead..
Why on earth would you attack firies for god sake??..some people should have been drowned at birth and the shooter/s is/are one of them...
He did, whether by his own hand or police isn't known yet. Unfortunately that means we'll likely never know why he did this
Morning...just a pity the maggot didn't shoot himself first...
Sounds like he was talking to the firies about the fire he had lit and didn't want them putting it out...
Can't argue with that.