Wess Val Roley has been named as the sniper who set a brush fire on an Idaho mountain as bait, before killing three firefighters who rushed to the scene.
The 20 year-old suspect, who also died on Canfield Mountain in Coeur D’Alene Sunday, lived in Arizona with his mother Heather Lynn Kuuipo Cuchiara, according to public records – though police believe he had recently been residing in a van.
He appeared close with his mother, who wished him a happy birthday just last month.
Roley is shown in images online sporting strikingly-long hair which emphasized his delicate features, but also with a buzz cut in his driver’s license photograph.
Another image of Roley unearthed from social media shows him wearing a t-shirt which indicates a fascination with European neo-Nazis and heavy-metal.
Police said Roley was born in California, and he also lived in Arizona before moving to Idaho. They believe he was living in a van recovered amid the blaze.
Roley’s father Jason, 39, lives about an hour’s drive away from the scene of the shooting, in the town of Priest River, Idaho.
He is married to a woman called Sara Roley – Wess’ stepmother – and the pair are parents to two young children.
The suspected gunman might have been turned down for a firefighting job because of his height, his grandfather has speculated in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Roley, who was 5-foot-8, is believed to have fatally shot two firefighters and wounded a third on Sunday after lighting a bush on fire and ambushing the first responders.
He allegedly launched a barrage of gunfire over several hours around 1.30pm at Canfield Mountain, close to the town of Coeur d’Alene in northern Idaho.
Roley was found dead beside a gun almost six hours later. Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said officials believe he shot himself.
Norris also confirmed his department ‘had information’ that Roley wanted to be a firefighter.
‘He actually really respected law enforcement,’ the alleged shooter’s grandfather, Dale Roley, told NBC News.
‘He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters.
‘I know he had been in contact to get a job with a fire department. He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolized.
‘Maybe he got rejected or something,’ the stunned grandfather said, adding that his height might have prevented him from joining the department.
Officials said preliminary information indicates the suspect acted alone in the shooting, and detectives have not yet identified a motive.
The suspect’s grandfather added that he worked at a tree service and had tree-climbing skills needed to help with tackling wildfires.
He was also trained in using firearms, and used to venture out on hog hunts.
Roley’s grandfather said that he often appeared ‘nervous’, ‘high strung’ and ‘kind of a loner’, but he felt these were ‘normal issues for kids these days’.
‘I feel real terrible for those killed,’ the grandfather said.
During a press update on Monday evening, Norris gave additional information about Roley, including that officials believe he had been living in a van, which was found close to the fire.
We still have the suspect’s vehicle down an embankment of the mountain,’ Norris said.
‘Deputies who responded on scene thought it would be in their best interest to get rid of what they thought was Roley’s vehicle.
‘They pushed it over the side so that he couldn’t get in it and flee.’
‘It did appear that he was living in the vehicle,’ he added.
‘There was a lot of debris that was in the vehicle (but) we have not verified or found any manifesto, or done an inventory of that vehicle.’
Cops also shared a terrifying image of the suspect from his social media.
The photograph, shared on Instagram stories, shows California-born Roley wearing a balaclava with a coal-like substance smeared on his face.
In now deleted images shared to social media by his stepfather, Roley, 20, can also be seen in a t-shirt by Norwegian black metal band ‘Darkthrone’.
The group have sparked controversy in the past for their association with fellow Norwegian metal musician Kristian ‘Varg’ Vikernes.
Vikernes fronts the one-man black metal band ‘Burzum’ having previously played bass for metal band ‘Mayhem’. He was previously arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack in France and is described widely as a neo-Nazi.
The Nettleton Gulch Fire allegedly started by Roley spread around 20 acres over Canfield Mountain overnight, and firefighters were still tackling the blaze on Monday.
Officials have not yet named the firefighters who died, but said one was from Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue.
A third was left ‘fighting for his life’ after being struck and rushed to surgery, but he is now in a stable condition.
Roley had never been arrested, though he’d had a brush with police for a minor trespass incident, and officers had conducted some ‘welfare checks’ on him.
His body was pulled away from the scene just as the blaze began to spread across Canfield Mountain.
The wildfire continues to burn on Monday afternoon, with distraught firefighters now forced to battle it while grieving for two colleagues killed in the most horrific of circumstances.