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Coeur d’Alene shooting: Who were the slain firefighters? What we know about the victims so far
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris has confirmed that two firefighters were killed in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, shooting, and a third remains hospitalized.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris has confirmed that two firefighters were killed in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, shooting, and a third remains hospitalized. The firefighters were ambushed by a shooter while responding to a brush fire.
While the names of the victims have not been released yet, some information about the two slain firefighters has been disclosed.
Who were the two slain firefighters?
One of the firefighters who died in the attack worked for the Coeur D’Alene Fire Department, Norris said at a recent news conference. He added that the other firefighter was employed by Kootenai County Fire and Rescue.
“This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance,” Norris said.
The injured firefighter is stable at a hospital, but “fighting for his life,” Norris said. He is also from Coeur D’Alene Fire.
Meanwhile, authorities said that the body of a man found on Canfield Mountain next to a firearm is believed to be the only person who acted alone in the attack. "Based on the preliminary information, we believe that was the only shooter up on that mountain at that time," Norris said. "There is no threat to the community at this time."
Authorities are now working to put together a profile of the deceased man found with a firearm. Jason Pack, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent, told CNN’s Erica Hill that authorities are planning to serve search warrants at locations tied to the deceased person and “start working backwards and building a profile of him.”
“They’ll be trying to identify any people who he may have known, who he may have been affiliated with, or who he’s associated with, and try to start answering the why,” Pack said.
Norris said that officials believe the suspect intentionally started the fire as part of “an ambush.” “We do believe he started it and it was totally intentional what he did,” he stated.
The alleged suspect’s body was quickly “scooped up” because of the approaching fire, Norris explained. “We felt like since the fire was approaching, we needed to scoop up (the suspect’s) body,” Norris said, describing the scene as “compromised.” He added, “We had to do what we had to do to preserve the body.”
“We don’t know if there are more weapons up there that he had. There is a belief that he ran and shot,” the sheriff added. “There’s a likelihood that when we are able to enter the scene again tomorrow without the threat of fire that we’ll find other weapons that were placed.”
