A gunman lured firefighters into an ambush in Idaho. Here’s what we know

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Two firefighters were killed and a third wounded in northern Idaho on Sunday after police say an armed man ambushed them after intentionally setting a brush fire to lure them to the scene.

The suspect in the attack was found dead late on Sunday, according to law enforcement.

Smoke from the fire was still hanging in the air in the Coeur d’Alene neighborhood where Debbie Essman lives. She watched the fire burn on Canfield Mountain from her driveway during a shelter-in-place order on Sunday.

“I think people are relieved that it’s over and can’t believe it happened,” she told NPR on Monday.

Essman said everyone is shocked by the act of “some evil person.”

Here’s what we know about the shooting:

It happened in a wooded area in Coeur d’Alene

The incident took place in northwest Idaho on Canfield Mountain, on the outskirts of the city of Coeur d’Alene. Authorities say a call reporting a fire came in at 1:21 p.m. local time on Sunday and that the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and the Northern Lakes Fire District responded.

The forested foothills are full of pine and fir trees and the area is a popular mountain park for hiking and biking.

How it unfolded

Firefighters arrived on the scene at about 1:30 p.m. and reported about a half-hour later that they were being fired upon, according to the sheriff’s office.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said authorities believe the blaze was deliberately set to lure in firefighters. “We do believe the suspect started the fire, it was an ambush and it was totally intentional,” he said at a Sunday news conference. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”

The two firefighters killed were from the Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County departments, he said. The third firefighter who was shot was “fighting for his life” after undergoing surgery, the sheriff said.

Norris said a sniper armed with a high-powered rifle concealed himself in the rugged terrain as he carried out the attack. The sheriff instructed deputies to return fire, noting the gunman appeared “well prepared” for the landscape. Authorities believe the man was the sole shooter on the mountain at the time.

The ambush stretched on for several hours. Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order that wasn’t lifted until late Sunday evening. At around 3:15 p.m., authorities detected an active cellphone signal on the mountain that had remained stationary for some time, Norris said.

Using the signal to pinpoint the location, SWAT officers later discovered the body of the suspect with a weapon found nearby, he added. The sheriff did not provide any details about how the suspect died.

Posting on X, Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the incident “a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.” Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked “our incredible @FBI agents on the ground assisting local authorities in Idaho.”

What’s next in the investigation

No motive for the attack has been publicly mentioned. During a Sunday news conference, Norris said officials had prioritized removing the dead body for further investigation. He said an investigation would resume on Monday but acknowledged that the crime scene had been compromised by the fire, which was still burning on Monday.

NPR National Correspondent Kirk Siegler reported from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. NPR Correspondent Scott Neuman contributed from Washington, D.C.