LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, today, the community is being asked to line a highway and stand atop bridges for a procession. They will honor firefighters who were shot by a gunman Sunday while responding to a brush fire. Authorities have now identified the deceased man, who they say intentionally set a wildfire to ambush firefighters. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.
KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris confirmed to reporters here that the gunman was 20-year-old Wess Roley, who had moved to North Idaho, as it's known locally, in the last year from Arizona. Leading up to the fatal ambush, police believe he was living in his car up on Canfield Mountain, east of Coeur d'Alene. Sheriff Norris says police had had five interactions with him recently - all minor - for trespassing and welfare checks.
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BOB NORRIS: We've had interactions with him, but we don't find a criminal record with him.
SIEGLER: Norris says police don't yet have a motive, but he did confirm reports that the gunman wanted to work in the forest and be a firefighter. Authorities believe Roley took his own life, that he acted alone, that he used a flint starter to ignite a brush fire, then lay in the woods with a shotgun, waiting for the firefighters. They came quick. It's been unusually hot and dry, and this was a fire threatening the eastern edge of the lakeside city of Coeur d'Alene. Kootenai County Fire Chief Christopher Way says his department regularly trains for active shooters, but the call that came in was for a brush fire, not a sniper in the woods.
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CHRISTOPHER WAY: We saw smoke showing. We went in, like we do all the time, and attacked the fire. And then, unfortunately, we got attacked. The way they were attacked and ambushed, they never had a chance.
SIEGLER: Authorities released the names of the three veteran firefighters who were shot. The two men who died were both longtime veterans of the city and county fire departments - 52-year-old Battalion Chief John Morrison and 42-year-old Frank Harwood. Harwood was Justin Zabel's battalion chief and friend. Zabel is president of the local firefighters union.
JUSTIN ZABEL: The biggest thing I take away from it is just his service - his true service to the community, his love for being a firefighter, his love for leading his battalion.
SIEGLER: Zabel said no matter how hard it is, the fallen firefighters' brothers and sisters at Local 2856 will continue to answer the call and serve their community - a community known for its steady support for police and first responders. Coeur d'Alene is in shock and trying to make sense of how the unthinkable could have even happened.
Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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