Topline
Two firefighters were killed and another was injured after they were ambushed by a sniper while responding to a wildfire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday, prompting a several-hour-long shelter-in-place order, which was lifted after police found a deceased man next to a firearm in the vicinity of the shooting.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said the firefighters were shot at around 1:30 p.m. local time after responding to a wildfire in the Canfield Mountain, north of Coeur d’Alene.
The sheriff’s office said shots were fired again—30 minutes after the firefighters were shot—as law enforcement authorities responded to the scene.
A shelter-in-place order remained in effect for several hours as people were urged to “stay away” from the Canfield Mountain and the area was designated a “no-fly zone”.
The shelter-in-place was lifted after members of a SWAT team located a “deceased male on Canfield Mountain” with a firearm nearby.
In a Facebook post, Kootenai County Emergency Management said a wildfire was still burning on Canfield Mountain as firefighting efforts had to be paused while police were hunting for the shooter.
The International Associated of Firefighters, a union representing firefighters, tweeted: “While responding to a fire earlier today in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, IAFF members were ambushed in a heinous act of violence. Two of our brothers were killed by a sniper, and a third brother remains in surgery.”
In a statement on X, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said: “Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho. This is 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. Teresa and I are heartbroken.”
This is a developing story.