COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — UPDATE AT 9:45 p.m. on June 29th – Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris believes they have found the body of the only gunman in the ambush that killed two firefighters Sunday evening.
Sheriff Norris says law enforcement officers keyed in on a cell phone that stayed in one area near the crime scene from 3:15 pm until after 7:30 Sunday night.
Norris said they “honed in” on that area and saw a dead man with a weapon nearby. He did not release what type of gun was found.
Because of the active fire in the area, Sheriff Norris said they “scooped up that body” to get it out of the area so that firefighters could focus on getting the fire under control.
Sheriff Norris says the fire is contained.
“We believe there’s a likelihood when we can enter the scene tomorrow… we’ll find more weapons,” Sheriff Norris said.
He said he’s confident this fire was set on purpose to lure firefighters in.
“This was a total ambush,” Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Sheriff Norris said one of the firefighters killed was a Coeur d’Alene city firefighter, the other was from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue.
A third firefighter was also shot and just came out of surgery. He’s described as being stable as of 9:45 Sunday night.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Sheriff Norris said. “This community supports firefighters and law enforcement.”
UPDATE AT 7:45 p.m. on June 29 – The SWAT team responding to the ambush of firefighters on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d’Alene have found a man dead with a firearm nearby.
The shelter in place order has been lifted, but the sheriff’s office warns there is still an active wildfire burning in the area.
People living nearby should be prepared if they need to leave.
The sheriff’s office plans to release more information at a news conference at 9:30.
UPDATE at 6:45 p.m. on June 29 -Kootenai Health confirmed to 4 News Now three patients from the Canfield Mountain ambush were brought to the hospital this afternoon. Two died before they arrived, one person is being treated for their injuries.
Sheriff Bob Norris said in a news conference Sunday afternoon that officers are “actively taking sniper fire.”
Around 7 p.m., KCSO designated the Canfield Mountain area as a no-fly zone, including a strict prohibition against drones.
“Unauthorized aircraft or drones in the area post a serious risk to firefighting and law enforcement operations,” said KCSO in a press release.
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UPDATE at 5:00 pm on June 29 – The Kootenai County Sheriff says he doesn’t know how many gunmen are shooting at law enforcement on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d’Alene.
Sheriff Bob Norris said in a news conference Sunday afternoon that officers are “actively taking sniper fire.”
“We don’t know if there’s one, two, three or four,” Sheriff Norris said.
The sheriff confirmed two people are dead, most likely firefighters. He said there are more people on the mountain they haven’t been able to reach, which could include people who live in the area or people who were hiking there this afternoon.
Sheriff Norris said the call about the brush fire came in around 1:22 Sunday afternoon. At 2 pm, firefighters reported there were shots fired.
Norris said the gunman or gunmen show “no sign of wanting to surrender” and that he’s hoping law enforcement can get a clean shot to “neutralize” the shooter or shooters.
He said no law enforcement officers have been shot.
The sheriff said he expects to update the situation later Sunday evening, but wasn’t sure what time.
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UPDATE at 4:36 p.m. June 29 – FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posted on social media that the FBI is headed to CDA to provide additional support for the firefighter ambush.
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UDPATE at 4:08 p.m. June 29 – Kootenai County Emergency Management expanded the shelter in place to everything south of Hayden Lake Road and east of 15th Street in Coeur d’Alene.
The original shelter in place was set for the area of Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road.
ABC News has confirmed with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office that firefighters responding to a brush fire were ambushed by a gunman.
Multicare said Spokane hospitals are standing by to take patients if needed.
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UPDATE at 4:00 p.m. June 29 – ABC News has confirmed with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office that firefighters responding to a brush fire were ambushed by a gunman.
ABC attributes the information to Kootenai County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Howard
UPDATE at 3:27 p.m. June 29 – Kootenai County Emergency Management issued an emergency shelter in place for people in the area of Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road on Sunday afternoon.
4 News Now is working to confirm what is being broadcast on the scanner, which is that fire crews responding to a wildfire were ambushed and shot.
This is a rapidly developing story and will be updated as we get more information.
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ORIGINAL – 3 p.m. June 29
Emergency personnel and law enforcement are responding to a major emergency in Coeur d’Alene Sunday afternoon.
We’re working to confirm what is being broadcast on the scanner, which is that fire crews responding to a wildfire were ambushed and shot.
While we don’t typically report scanner information, reporters in the area are seeing wildfire smoke in the area of E. Nettleton Gulch Road. We’re also seeing emergency crews blocking roads in the area. Emergency responders are staging at Kootenai Health and at least one medical helicopter has responded to the area.
4 News Now journalists have also seen law enforcement respond from the Spokane area, heading to the scene.
This is a rapidly developing story and will be updated as we get more information.
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