KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — A wildland fire call in Idaho turned into an ambush in the summer of 2025 when a firefighter arriving on scene found three colleagues shot and radioed that they were under fire.
A newly released report obtained by USA TODAY details the 2025 attack and double homicide carried out by 20-year-old Wess Roley, who authorities say set a wildfire on Canfield Mountain before opening fire on responding firefighters with a shotgun. Investigators said Roley had signs of isolation, despair and interest in extremist ideologies.
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Lead Kootenai County Detective Derrick Hollenbeck wrote that the motive remains uncertain and likely will never be known.
Investigators released new details about the intentionally set wildfire and the June 29 attack, clarifying earlier reports that described the gunman as a sniper, according to USA TODAY. Authorities said all three firefighters were shot at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun.
The report outlines the timeline leading up to the attack and how the shooter obtained his weapon.
Authorities said Roley purchased a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun in Idaho on March 23, 2025. In the months before the attack, hikers and motorcyclists reported seeing him in the mountains, sometimes camping in the area.
In the days before the June 29 attack, surveillance video showed the shooter making multiple trips to a sporting goods store in Coeur d’Alene, where he bought a shotgun shell belt, earplugs, ammunition, a hunting knife and an energy drink. Police said he returned the day before the attack to buy more ammunition.
On June 28, a day before the attack, investigators said the suspect took photos of himself practicing with his shotgun and firing at a stump in the woods, according to search warrant records.
Investigators used FBI cellphone data, surveillance footage and audio from fire trucks to build a timeline of the June 29, 2025, attack, USA TODAY reports.
Authorities said the suspect left his Coeur d’Alene apartment at 11:39 a.m. and was later seen eating lunch alone at Atilano’s Mexican restaurant. His phone then traveled north to Nettleton Gulch Road at 12:18 p.m. He arrived at the wooded parking area at 12:25 p.m. Dispatchers began receiving 911 calls about smoke on the western slope of Canfield Mountain at 1:21 p.m. By 1:37 p.m., a city fire engine driven by Engineer David Tysdal, 47, and a truck driven by Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52, had reached the upper parking lot at Nettleton Gulch, where the suspect was standing near his black 2000 Ford Ranger pickup.
At 1:41 p.m., firefighters asked the suspect to move his truck, and he agreed. A minute later, a third Kootenai County brush truck arrived, driven by Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42. The three firefighters then gathered at Battalion Chief John Morrison’s truck to discuss their plan, with Morrison in the driver’s seat, Harwood in the passenger seat and Engineer David Tysdal, 47, standing at the passenger door.
Audio captured the sound of a pump-action shotgun being racked at 1:49:54 p.m., followed by six shots over the next 20 seconds. Investigators believe the suspect walked to the truck and, without speaking, fired over the hood into the cab. Tysdal was hit once and fell to the ground, while Harwood was struck three times and Morrison once, fatally wounding both men. A sixth shot missed.
Despite his injuries, Tysdal was able to key his microphone with his face and report that he had been shot and could not move. When firefighter Wiedenhoff arrived, he briefly spoke with Tysdal, reported that firefighters were down and crawled to cover, raising fears that one or more shooters were still in the area.
He also reported seeing a drone overhead and feared it might be being used by the shooter, but dispatchers told him it belonged to law enforcement.
At 2:21 p.m., an armored Bearcat vehicle arrived and deployed smoke canisters as officers fired into the woods. Within minutes, a SWAT team rescued Tysdal and also picked up motorcyclists who had been traveling through the area. Nearly 300 law enforcement officers took part in the response, manhunt and investigation. Firefighters then spent the next week containing the 38-acre wildfire.
By 7 p.m., SWAT officers found the suspect dead about 100 yards from the shooting scene. He was dressed in Army green and camouflage pants and was lying face down on top of his shotgun after taking his own life.
Roley grew up in Phoenix, where former classmates said he was fixated on guns, had talked about joining the Army and showed an interest in Nazism, USA TODAY reports. Several described him as “edgy.” He later moved to Idaho, where his father operated a tree-trimming business. Records show Roley was fired from a tree-trimming job there in June 2025 after four days, with other employees raising concerns about his lack of experience and their safety.
Army officials confirmed that Roley also tried several times to enlist in the U.S. Army in Idaho but was unsuccessful. Police said the final note in his file showed he missed an enlistment appointment in March 2025.
The suspect also asked about becoming a firefighter, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris. Norris said the man went to a Coeur d’Alene fire station in May 2025 to inquire about applying and appeared to believe he could join immediately. He became upset when told he would need to complete testing, interviews and training, the sheriff said.
Investigators found additional 12-gauge shotgun slugs and burned pages from a book about German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose work examined Western morality, religion and philosophy, USA TODAY reports.
Authorities also said the shooter left a handwritten goodbye note to his father inside his truck at the scene.
“Tomorrow I shall go into battle if I survive it would be with upmost dishonor. I bid thee farewell, I hope that you shall live to the fullest extent as you have thus far,” the letter said in part.
The suspect also urged his father not to fall into what he described as the traps of modern life and media, according to USA TODAY.
Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, classified the shooting last summer as an extremist-related killing in the group’s database.
The new investigative report points to the shooter’s possible influences and online interests, according to USA TODAY. Authorities said his shotgun and notes featured Nordic runes, including “bind runes,” symbols that have been adopted by white supremacists. Investigators also found material on his devices tied to Serbian nationalism and the 1999 Columbine shooting.
Pitcavage said the case offers clues about the shooter’s influences, but no clear motive or ideology.
The June 29 attack occurred on the 24th anniversary of the burning of the former Aryan Nations headquarters during a local fire district training exercise, which took place just miles from the shooting scene.
