Sheriff says 2 firefighters killed in Idaho shooting ambush, suspect found dead
Three firefighters shot, two killed, while responding to a blaze near Coeur d’Alene
A gunman ambushed and shot dead two firefighters responding to a forest fire in northern Idaho on Sunday, wounding one other during an hours-long incident before the suspect was found dead, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said.
Law enforcement officers and firefighters took sniper fire during the incident at Canfield Mountain, a nature zone popular with hikers near Coeur d’Alene, about 420km (260 miles) east of Seattle, Sheriff Bob Norris said.
“We do believe that the suspect started the fire,” Norris told a press conference. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
A third wounded firefighter was “fighting for his life” after surgery and was in a stable condition, Norris added.
Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, but it was not clear if the gunman was hit and killed, or if he killed himself.