SWAT officers had to rescue the body of a gunman from a fire he allegedly started in order to lure first responders to the scene and shoot them down.
The unidentified sniper was found dead with a firearm nearby on Canfield Mountain outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Sunday evening after authorities honed in on a cellphone signal in the area, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris announced.
SWAT teams then had to quickly move the body from the scene as the inferno he allegedly set as bait for first responders began to spread across the area.
The fire was first reported at around 1.21pm, and firefighters were still conducting reconnaissance on the blaze when they suddenly found themselves being shot at around 2pm.
Two firefighters, one from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue, were killed on the scene. A third was also injured in the attack and is now ‘fighting for his life’ following surgery, but is in stable condition.
Police are now investigating whether the gunman may have made the original call to 911 about the fire on Canfield Mountain in an effort to get firefighters to the scene, with Norris saying he is not ruling out the possibility.
‘This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance,’ Norris said. The identity of the firefighters and shooter has not yet been released.
Harrowing fire department scanner calls revealed the terror the first responders faced as they arrived on the scene.
Police officers and firefighters who responded to the scene of a brush fire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho were shot at on Sunday afternoon
The fire was still blazing Sunday night as crews were forced to pull back when the shooting began
SWAT teams were forced to move the gunman’s body as the fire he allegedly set began to spread throughout the area
‘Send law enforcement right now! There’s an active shooter zone,’ one firefighter could be heard crying out.
‘Everybody’s shot up here!’ the firefighter continued, noting that two battalion chiefs were ‘down’ and he was ‘pinned.’
He was later heard warning his fellow firefighters, ‘Stop. Do not come up here.’
‘It’s clear to me that this fire was set intentionally to draw us in,’ the firefighter claimed.
Another firefighter was later heard telling dispatch he had ‘no idea where the shooters [are] at or where they’re going in, in which direction,’ one person could be heard telling dispatch.
‘I would recommend that our units, all of our firing units, escape further down the pavement towards town, maybe a half a mile or so to a safe staging area,’ the first responder said, according to NBC News.
He continued to say they were going to need ‘multiple ambulances’ at the scene.
‘As soon as we get law enforcement in here to get these people out, I recommend we get no less than five… ambulances staged at the bottom. I don’t care where we get them from.’
The firefighters were ultimately forced to pull back, with Northern Lakes Fire District Chief Pat Riley telling KHQ he would not be deploying any more crew members until the threat was neutralized.
Meanwhile, the blaze continued to grow to cover 20 acres and the gunman kept shooting.
The rapid-fire shooting eventually prompted the evacuation of the Fernan Gun Club, whose members were told there was a sniper in the area, the Coeur d’Alene Press reports.
When Fire Chief Riley got the news of the ambush, he said he ‘was completely heartbroken.’
‘We trained for this. You never want to see it in your own community.’
Life Flight helicopters were deployed to the scene, and photos and videos posted online showed a large police presence in the surrounding area.
Authorities from Spokane, Washington provided assistance in what they described on social media as an ‘active, ongoing incident’ on East Nettleton Gulch Road.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also confirmed on social media that assets were heading to the scene to provide ‘tactical and operational support,’ and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the US Forest Service deployed additional firefighting and law enforcement resources.
Additionally, law enforcement agents and medical professionals were on standby at Kootenai Health.
By around 4.30pm, Sheriff Norris gave law enforcement the authority to shoot to kill the gunman if they were given the opportunity.
He even deployed two helicopters with snipers to take out the gunman.
‘I am hoping someone has a clear shot, they are not showing any signs of wanting to surrender,’ Norris said of the shooter at an earlier news conference, adding that it is ‘going to be a tough couple of hours.’
It is believed a shooter set a fire intentionally to draw first responders to the scene
Law enforcement officers gather at Cherry Hill Park after multiple firefighters were attacked
US Marshals were pictured at the scene of the shooting on Sunday evening
Residents watched as a processional of emergency vehicles passed by following the shooting
It is now believed the deceased gunman was the only shooter in the attack ‘based on the trajectory [of the bullets] and based on the type of weapons that this individual had that we could recover,’ Norris said.
He explained that it is likely the gunman was running as he fired, as he announced ‘there is no threat to the community at this time.’
Yet the suspect’s motive for the shooting remains unclear.
An investigation into the shooting will continue on Monday, when Norris said he expects to find more weapons that were left at the scene.
Those efforts, though, may also be hindered by the ongoing blaze.
Resident Mark Lathrop had earlier said he was more concerned about the fire than he did about the active shooting.
‘They have cleared the underbrush, but where they’re going to be, it’s going to be pretty thick and it’s very, very dry. We haven’t had a lot of rain here,’ he told CNN.
The fire continued to burn on Canfield Mountain Sunday evening
Photos and videos posted online show a large police presence in the surrounding area
A United States Customs and Border Protection helicopter lifts off from Cherry Hill Park in search of the shooters
Roads were shut down in the area as authorities responded to the scene
An armored police vehicle travels towards Canfield Mountain
Meanwhile, Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the attack a ‘heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.
‘I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more,’ he said, adding that he and his wife are ‘heartbroken’ by the news.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said her department was monitoring the situation.
‘Pray for Idaho’s first responders,’ she wrote on X. ‘Justice will be served.’