Earlier this week, I reported on the Idaho sniper attack on firefighters near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in which a gunman ambushed fire crews responding to a deliberately set brush fire on Canfield Mountain.
The attack resulted in the deaths of two firefighters: Frank Harwood, Chief of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and John Morrison, Battalion Chief of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.
Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Dave Tysdal was recovering after two surgeries, according to Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.”This community lost two dedicated public servants,” Gabe Eckert, president of the Coeur d’Alene Firefighters’ union, said at a news conference. “These men were dedicated firefighters; they were dedicated to their community. These guys were hard workers who loved their families.”
The suspect has now been identified as Wess Roley, a 20-year-old man who had recently moved to Idaho and was living in his vehicle near the scene.
The suspect, identified as Wess Roley, 20, is believed to have climbed a tree and shot the firefighters below with a shotgun, the Kootenai County sheriff, Robert Norris, told reporters.Law enforcement officers had exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned. Later, using cellphone signal data, officials found the body of the suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby. The authorities said on Monday that they believed the suspect, who they think acted alone, died in an apparent suicide.Mr. Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, said in an interview on Monday that his grandson had expressed interest in becoming a forest firefighter. He moved to Idaho last year and was working for a tree company, his grandfather said.“He was just trying to figure his life out,” Mr. Roley said. “He seemed to be a little bit optimistic.”
The investigators are still processing the crime scene, and no “manifesto” or clue about motivation have been found. Roley had “very minor” encounters with law enforcement previously.
As the Nettleton Gulch Fire continued to burn on Monday, the sheriff said it will take days to fully process the area, but investigators have located Roley’s vehicle in an embankment near the scene. He said investigators have not yet been able to inventory the vehicle, which has “a lot of debris in there.” People who have seen the vehicle say it appears Roley was living in the vehicle, Norris said.Norris said authorities have not found any writings that would indicate the suspect’s motive.The suspect previously had five “very minor” encounters with law enforcement but had no criminal history, according to the sheriff. The interactions with officers “had to do more with trespassing, he was asked to leave and [was] cooperative,” Norris said. Other interactions included welfare checks reported by property owners about Roley’s vehicle, the sheriff said.
Investigation into Roley’s background reveal that his mother sought court-ordered protection from his father (who had threatened her with a sniper attack in 2015).
Documents filed in a Maricopa County, Arizona, court in 2015 show his mother, Heather Lynn Cuchiara, sought an order of protection against Roley’s father, Jason Roley, then her husband. She said that in October 2015, Jason Roley was arrested for criminal damage and assault after he was alleged to have gone to her home and threatened to commit suicide. Cuchiara said that things escalated and that Jason Roley punched holes in the walls, destroyed her cellphone and pushed her to the ground.Cuchiara expressed concern that there were drugs and two guns in Jason Roley’s home, according to the documents.In another alleged incident in November 2015, she said Jason Roley had told her that he would be “waiting outside with a sniper rifle,” according to the document. She asked that the order of protection include their son, Wess Roley, as a protected person. (He was 10 at the time.)
In terms of social media, an Idaho sheriff shared the last Instagram photo that was posted by Roley, who was wearing camouflage in the image.
Roley, 20, posted the image to his Instagram page right before luring firefighters to an intentionally set brush fire and opening fire, authorities believe.The photo shows him in camouflage, wearing face paint, and with a photo from a Bjork album on his chest. The picture was set to the song “Hunter,” according to Rolling Stone. Roley’s Instagram page has since been deleted.
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