A violent ambush leaves 2 firefighters dead and another injured. What to know about the Idaho attack

BOISE, Idaho – Authorities accidental two firefighters were killed and different was severely injured aft they were ambushed and changeable portion responding to a wildfire adjacent Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, connected Sunday afternoon.

Here's what to cognize astir the attack, the probe and adjacent steps.

Ambush starts with a brushwood fire

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said firefighters archetypal responded to an aboriginal day study of a brushwood occurrence astatine Canfield Mountain, a fashionable and scenic hiking and biking country adjacent the outskirts of town. But erstwhile the firefighters arrived, idiosyncratic began shooting astatine them.

The occurrence was acceptable to lure the firefighters into an ambush, Norris said.

Law enforcement officials responded, locking down the neighborhoods adjacent the hiking country and trying to find the shooter successful hilly terrain that had plentifulness of cover, with heavy brushwood and trees and fume from the occurrence nearby.

First hours are chaotic, with injuries and fig of shooters unknown

Over the adjacent fewer hours, it wasn't wide if hikers oregon different recreationists were stuck connected the mountain, oregon if immoderate civilians had been injured successful the shooting, Norris said. What was wide was the information the firefighters and responding instrumentality enforcement faced. They exchanged gunfire with the shooter, helium said.

“We don’t cognize however galore suspects are up there, and we don’t cognize however galore casualties determination are,” Norris told reporters astatine a 4:30 p.m. quality conference. “We are actively taking occurrence sniper arsenic we speak.”

A spokesperson with Kootenai Health, aboriginal confirmed that 3 patients were transported to the infirmary — 2 were dormant by the clip they arrived, and a 3rd was injured.

The deceased included a firefighter from the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department and 1 from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. A 3rd firefighter was severely injured but had made it done country and was “fighting for his life,” Norris said aboriginal that night.

Cell telephone information helps instrumentality enforcement find the suspect

Faced with much than 17,000 quadrate feet (1,580 quadrate meters) of containment area, portion of it burning, authorities utilized compartment telephone information to constrictive their search. They identified a compartment awesome astir 3:15 p.m. and noticed it had not changed determination for immoderate time, Norris said.

A tactical effect squad went to the determination and recovered a deceased antheral with a limb nearby. Officials judge the antheral was the shooter, the sheriff said.

The occurrence complicates the transgression scene

The occurrence was burning adjacent to the assemblage of the suspect, and truthful authorities had to “scoop the assemblage up” earlier it was engulfed successful flames, Norris said.

Crews were stationed astir the country overnight and the sheriff said the probe would proceed Monday morning.

Norris said investigators judge that erstwhile they are capable to afloat hunt the area, they whitethorn find that much weapons had been placed by the suspect.

Names and different details person not been released

The names of the slain and injured firefighters person not been released.

Nor has the sanction of the suspect, whose individuality authorities are waiting to confirm, Norris said.

A procession of occurrence and instrumentality enforcement vehicles accompanied the bodies of the fallen firefighters arsenic they were taken from the infirmary successful Coeur d'Alene to the aesculapian examiner's bureau successful Spokane, Washington, a neighboring metropolis conscionable crossed the authorities line.

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