A 20-year-old man shot and killed two firefighters and wounded a third as they responded to a brush fire on Canfield Mountain in northern Idaho.

According to authorities, the attack occurred in a wooded recreation area just outside Coeur d’Alene. 

Fire officials identified the two firefighters who died as Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, and Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52. The injured firefighter was Engineer Dave Tysdal. 

Police named the suspect as 20-year-old Wess Roley. According to law enforcement, he was found dead late Sunday.

“We do believe the suspect started the fire and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said during a press conference. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”

According to Norris, Roley had been living in his vehicle. He had minor past contact with local law enforcement and once expressed interest in becoming a firefighter.

“He had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho “for the better part of 2024,” Norris said. “But as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place — I don’t know.”

According to a Facebook post by his mother, Roley moved from Arizona to Idaho in 2023, when he turned 18, to work for his father’s tree-cutting company.

Police are now investigating the motive behind the attack.

As of Monday, the Associated Press reported that the fire, which burned approximately 26 acres, is no longer spreading and is now under control.