An investigation is underway after authorities say a lone gunman started a fire and ambushed firefighters who responded to it in north-west Idaho on Sunday, allegedly shooting and killing two and seriously injuring another.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told a news conference that the third firefighter was stable but “fighting for his life” in the Kootenai Health campus in Coeur d’Alene, about 30 miles east of Spokane, Washington.
Details were scarce on what was described as a “heinous act” that has shocked the local community.
“We do believe…that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush, and it was intentional,” Norris said. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Norris also said the unidentified suspect was found dead on Canfield Mountain with a gun nearby. Officers exchanged fire with the suspected gunman, though it’s not clear if police killed him, and no clear motive has been established. The alleged shooter’s body was removed from the scene.
Idaho State Police will investigate the exchange of gunfire, while the local coroner will examine the causes of death.
The two slain firefighters, who have not been identified, died on the way to the Kootenai Health campus in Coeur d’Alene, a hospital spokesperson said. One of the firefighters was from the Coeur D’Alene Fire Department, and one was from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, authorities said.
At 1:21 p.m. local time on Sunday, firefighters were called to reports of a brush fire on Canfield Mountain, near Coeur D’Alene in northwest Idaho. The fire reportedly grew to about 20 acres overnight. At 2 p.m., firefighters reported that they were under fire.
“June 29, 2025, is a day that we will not forget in this community. It is the day evil showed his face, and we lost two outstanding professionals of the highest quality,” Bruce Mattare, chairman of the board of county commissioners in Kootenai County, told the news conference.
“And I cannot fathom why anyone would commit such a heinous act. This kind of senseless violence is unheard of here,” he added.
Edward A. Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said on X that the two firefighters were killed by a sniper in what he called a “heinous act of violence.”
Around 300 law enforcement officers, including local and federal forces, were involved in the operation to find the suspect, and a shelter-in-place order was issued locally amid fears that there may have been a second shooter at large. That order was lifted when police said there was only one shooter.
Emergency services took part in a procession of vehicles to honor the memory of the firefighters who were killed.
