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What we know about Idaho firefighters, sniper who ambushed them

An Idaho community is reeling days after a manset a brush fire and ambushed responding firefighters, fatally shooting two and injuring a third. Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood and Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison were killed in the attack June 29, authorities said. 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 anews conference. "These men were dedicated firefighters; they were dedicated to their community. These guys were hard workers who loved their families." Authorities identified the suspect, who is also deceased in an apparent suicide, as 20-year-oldWess Roley. Roley's body was discovered after a six-hour manhunt that drew a response of hundreds of law enforcement officials from local, state and federal agencies. Here's what we know: The firefightersresponded to a callat about 1:21 p.m. June 29 that fire had broken out on the east side of Canfield Mountain near Coeur d'Alene, a city of about 57,000 in the northwest part of the state. At 2 p.m., firefighters broadcast that shots had been fired, officials said. Hundreds of law enforcement officers responded, and gunfire was exchanged with the suspect, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said. "This was a total ambush," Norris said. "These firefighters did not have a chance." Investigators used cell phone data to locate a signal that hadn't moved since about 3:16 p.m. and discovered the body of the suspect, authorities announced just after 7:40 p.m. As the manhunt unfolded, the brush fire grew unchecked until it was considered safe for firefighters to access, the Idaho Department of Lands said. As of the evening of June 30, the blaze was being held at about 26 acres with no evacuations or structures at risk, the departmentsaidin an update. The suspect, a transient with a history of "minor" run-ins with police, appeared to be living out of his car at the time of the shooting, Norris said. Investigators were still looking into a possible motive and what brought Roley to Coeur d'Alene, he said. Past encounters with law enforcement were mostly about suspicions of trespassing, authorities said. He came from an "arborist family" and appeared to have fired from up a tree, Norris said. The suspect "at one point wanted to be a firefighter," Norris said. "We don't know if there's a nexus between that desire and what happened." Formerclassmates remembered Roleyin interviews with USA TODAY as having "Nazi tendencies" and "obsessed with guns." Read more. The firefighters killed in the attack wereremembered as "selfless public servants." Harwood, 42, had been with the Kootenai agency for 17 years, according to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way. He was married with two children. "He did an amazing job," Way said. "This loss is felt by so many." Morrison, 52, had been with the Coeur d'Alene department since 1996, said Greif, the city's fire chief. Eckert, of the firefighters' union, shared a recent memory of smoking cigars with Morrison on a backyard patio. "We talked about being better fathers, we talked about being better leaders, and we talked about being better firefighters," Eckert said. "I'm so incredibly grateful that that gets to be my last memory with him." Contributing: John Bacon, Michael Loria, Christopher Cann, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Josh Meyer and Will Carless This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What we know about slain Idaho firefighters, sniper suspect Wess Roley