The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
(TNS)
Jun. 30—A gunman shot and killed two firefighters in an "ambush-style" attack at the popular Canfield Mountain recreation area near Coeur d'Alene Sunday afternoon.
The slain firefighters were from the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said at a news conference Sunday night. A third firefighter was "fighting for his life" after undergoing surgery, the sheriff said.
Investigators believe the fire was started intentionally to lure fire crews to the area. They also believe there was only one shooter and there is no longer a threat to the community.
"These firefighters did not have a chance," Norris said.
It was unclear earlier in the day if there was one or multiple shooters, Norris said. When firefighters reported the shots, they said they felt them coming from different directions.
But members of the SWAT team found one man dead on Canfield Mountain with a gun nearby, according to a news release from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. Ashelter-in-place order for the surrounding area was then lifted.
The line-of-duty slayings rocked a region marked by a history of law enforcement deaths, including the 2015 murder of Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore and the 1998 murder of Idaho State Patrol Trooper Linda Huff in Coeur d'Alene.
Sunday's mayhem started when fire crews from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department were responding to a small wildfire around 1:20 p.m. on Canfield Mountain. Around 2 p.m., a suspect with "modern-day sporting" weapons began shooting at them, Norris said during an earlier news conference Sunday.
Pat Riley, Northern Lakes fire chief, said the situation quickly turned into an "ambush-style active shooter," and one of his personnel had to be pulled to safety.
"These firefighters did not have a chance," Norris said.
The firefighters who were killed or injured and the shooter were not identified Sunday.
More than 300 officers were on the scene Sunday, all from different federal and state agencies, Norris said.
Law enforcement had to quickly recover the person's body as the threat of wildfire was becoming increasingly close, he told reporters at a late-night news conference. Norris listed no motive for the attack.
"We are grieving as an organization," said Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief of Operations, Pete Holley. "We have mobilized peer support groups for our people. That is something we have put into place. We don't know all the extent of what we need to do for our people just yet."
Kootenai County Commission Chairman Bruce Mattare said Sunday that "what happened was senseless and tragic, beyond words."
" June 29, 2025, is a day that we will not forget in this community. It is a day evil showed its face, and we lost two outstanding professionals of the highest quality," Mattare said. "And I cannot fathom why anyone would commit such a heinous act. This kind of senseless violence is unheard of here."
Ricky Walsh, vice president of the International Association of Fire Fighters District 7, posted on Instagram Sunday evening that "members of our fire service family have been involved in an active and ongoing incident."
The post said no additional details would be released "during this incredibly difficult time."
As the violence unfolded, hikers were stuck on Canfield Mountain waiting to be evacuated "or in shock," Norris said.
"This is going to be, likely, a multiday operation."
At the 4:30 p.m. news conference, Norris said deputies were "actively taking sniper fire as we speak," and expressed hope that the shooter or shooters would be "neutralized."
"They are not, at this point in time, showing any evidence of wanting to surrender," he said. "We will neutralize this threat."
A "heartbroken" Idaho Gov. Brad Little posted on Facebook about the attack.
"Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho. This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters," the statement reads. "I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more."
Sen. Mike Crapo called the shooting "horrific" in a post on X, while Sen. Jim Risch said on the same platform that he was monitoring the incident.
"Gut-wrenching news coming from Coeur d'Alene," Rep. Mike Simpson also posted on X. "As the situation develops, our thoughts and prayers are with the brave firefighters and all first responders on the scene."
The shooting also garnered national attention, with Attorney General Pam Bondi on X thanking FBI agents for "assisting local authorities in Idaho."
"We are praying for all," she wrote.
A Life Flight Network helicopter was waiting in the area, where members of the public gathered along 15th Street to watch. Around 5:20 p.m., federal law enforcement helicopters from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection flew into the command post near Canfield Mountain at Cherry Hill Park.
Spokane resident Jerod Ward, watching the response from the parking lot of a NomNom gas station on 15th street, said an array of police vehicles came through. Ward said the area police are searching was "a lot of recreational trails and whatnot up there now."
A former resident of Coeur d'Alene, Ward said he still has a lot of friends and family in the area.
"It's heartbreaking, you know?" Ward said.
About a dozen other people were watching from the NomNom gas station on 15th Street and Best Avenue as gray smoke rose from the mountain to the east.
Among them, Daren Jordan said he saw the incident on the news and used his bicycle-turned-motorbike to ride the couple blocks from his home for a better vantage point.
"I don't know what to think at this point," Jordan said.
Luke and Bri George were standing farther north on 15th Street, near Stiner Avenue, for about two hours. They noted multiple law enforcement agencies from the region going up and down 15th, which was blocked to civilian traffic. Armored trucks drove up Nettleton Gulch, Luke George said.
"It's been very busy," he said.
Luke George, who said he and his family brought bottled water to officers, described the location of the fire and shooting as rocky and thick with trees and brush. Hiking and dirt bike trails cut through the mountain.
Steven Overman, who lives near 15th and Stiner, told law enforcement he saw a person from his yard cut across a clearing on the mountain. His wife, Emma Overman, also saw the person.
"I hope they get on 'em," Steve Overman said.
A Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputy then handed binoculars to Luke George and asked him to look at the clearing to report if he saw anyone.
The Overmans' sighting spurred law enforcement to rush to the family's home. Multiple law enforcement officers, including SWAT, pulled up to the man's yard to ask Steve Overman what he saw.
The George and Overman couples have lived in Coeur d'Alene for several decades, and Sunday's incident is something they've never seen.
"Nothing like this has ever happened," said Emma Overman, who's lived in Coeur d'Alene 44 years.
Luke George said he's lived there all 39 years of his life.
"It's not the town we grew up in, that's for sure," he said.
Later in the evening, residents as far as Spokane gathered to watch a procession of 99 emergency vehicles and a helicopter for the fallen firefighters coming from Coeur d'Alene. Smoke from Canfield Mountain could still be seen some 30 miles away.
There were many more ambulances and fire trucks on the bridges crossing Interstate 90. Police officers blocking traffic stood in silent salute as each vehicle, with emergency lights on, passed.
Also responding were the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, Spokane Police Department, Spokane Valley Fire Department, Spokane Fire Department, agencies from Montana and federal agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"Every day, firefighters and EMS personnel put themselves in harm's way for the communities they serve. Moments like this are a painful reminder of the risks they face in the line of duty and the strength of the fire service family when tragedy strikes," the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters posted on Instagram.
As some law enforcement left the area Sunday evening, others gathered in an apparent debriefing.
Some first responders near the command post sank into each other's arms in a hug, patting one another on the back.
A Kootenai County sheriff's employee put his arm around another and asked, "You OK, man?"
© 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.). Visit www.spokesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
