The alleged shooter who led firefighters into the Idaho forest with a fire and then killed them might have had a specific motive for aiming at the emergency responders.
The suspect, Wess Roley, may have been guided by a troubling theory proposed by his grandfather, giving a possible reason for the assault that resulted in two firefighters losing their lives and a third suffering severe injuries.
Authorities mentioned that the 20-year-old suspect ignited a fire in a bush on Canfield Mountain close to Coeur d’Alene to lure out firefighting teams on that Sunday morning, as per the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.
By around 2 pm, crews arrived at the scene to put out the flames, but raced behind their trucks when gunfire rang out.
Roley had positioned himself in the bushes and took aim at the first responders with a shotgun, killing two and hitting a third as flames licked the side of the mountain, cops say.
A now-haunting social media post shared by Roley moments before the shooting showed him wearing all camo with dark makeup smeared on his face as he played a song titled Hunter.
Roley exchanged fire with 300 officials who had raced to the popular hiking spot before turning the gun on himself.
His body was located through cell phone data and quickly recovered before the fire took over the scene.
Since Roley was named as the suspect, friends and family have given an inside look at his apparent mental health decline in the weeks leading up to the attack.
His former roommate, T.J. Franks Jr, who lived with Roley in nearby Sandpoint for six months, said the suspect appeared to “kind of go downhill” before moving out in January.
According to authorities, the shooter was living in his van when he died.
Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, said that the two were close and spoke nearly every week until they fell out of touch about a month ago.
Dale was told that his grandson had lost his phone and couldn’t get in touch.
The grandfather was stunned to learn of the attack, as he said that Roley respected law enforcement and was even interested in becoming a firefighter himself.
He figured “something must have snapped” and even speculated that Roley could have been rejected from the force, Dale told NBC News.
“He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters,” the grandfather told the outlet.
“Maybe he got rejected or something.”
At a press conference on Monday, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said there wasn’t any indication that Roley had applied for the force or filled out an interest form.
‘LONER’ GRANDSON
Dale admitted to witnessing strange behavioral issues in his grandson, but at the time, he thought it was just normal teenage angst.
He said his grandson sometimes seemed “nervous” and “high strung” and described him as “kind of a loner.”
Former classmates said that Roley struggled in school and would occasionally lash out in anger or talk back to teachers, CNN reported.
One student said that Roley was on the cross-country team, but only ran a few races and couldn’t keep up with his teammates.
However, the heartbroken grandfather stressed that the suspected shooter was never violent with others and spoke hopefully about his future when they chatted.
Cops confirmed the Roley had no criminal history and had only had very minor run-ins with officers in the past.
Investigators are still looking into the motivation behind the shooting.
“He did have a lot of heart,” said Dale.
“I feel real terrible for those killed.
VICTIMS NAMED
Frank Harwood, 42, who worked with Kootenai Fire and Rescue, and John Morrison, 52, who worked with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, have been named as the two victims.
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said their department is devastated by the tragedy and will now add law enforcement to every call they respond to.
“I don’t know that we’re ever going to be able to guarantee people’s peace of mind, at least for a while after an incident like this,” he said.
“But we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety of our responders.”
Roley had family ties in California and Arizona, and it’s unclear why he was living in Idaho at the time of his death, officials said.
In a statement, the suspect’s family said they were heartbroken to hear of the shooting and are thinking of the victims.
“At this time, we, the family of Wess Roley would like to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large,” they told the New York Post through their attorney.
“There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about.
“Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well.”
