Law enforcement official have identified suspected Idaho gunman, who fatally shot two firefighters and wounded a third on Sunday, as Wess Roley. The 20-year-old man is believed to have started the wildfire in Canfield Mountain near Coeur D’Alene to “ambush” firefighters. Once authorities arrived at the scene, he began shooting at them.

Officials indicated that he engaged in “a discussion” with the firefighters before opening fire. At the time of the incident, a flint stater was found in Roley’s possession, with which he is believed to have ignited the wildfire.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris has since revealed that Wess Val Roley was found dead in the area after the hours-long shootout that transpired between him and firefighters. In a press conference on Monday, the sheriff said that the 20-year-old US shooting suspect seemingly killed himself.

He further added that they young man said to be responsible for the tragic undertaking in Idaho “at one time wanted to be a firefighter.” Kootenai County Fire Chief Chris, however, remarked that they neither interacted with him before, nor did he apply for any position.

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About Wess Roley: Criminal history, residence and more revealed

A motive behind the crime has yet be uncovered as Norris said that no manifesto had been found. Authorities believe that the suspected Idaho shooter lives in his car. “There was a lot of debris that was in the vehicle (but) we have not verified or found any manifesto, or done an inventory of that vehicle,” he added.

“We know that he was a transient here,” the sheriff said. “We know he lived here for the better part of 2024. But as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place, I don’t know.” Born in California, Wess lived in Arizona before shifting to Idaho. Public records list his last address in Phoenix, Arizona. His family’s reported residence was an hour-long drive away from the weekend shooting location.

According to Sheriff Bob Norris, Roley had no criminal history except the the five “minor” interactions he had with the sheriff’s office and police department in the past.

Wess Roley’s social media presence, classmates’ account

The US sheriff revealed that Roley’s Instagram page had been wiped clean. As to who did it remains unclear. Nevertheless, an image of the suspect was recovered his IG Stories. The California-born man was spotted wearing a balaclava with a dark substance smeared on his face. A belt of rifle shells could also been seen around this waist.

Hours before opening fire at firefighters, he shared a Bjork song on social media, which including ominous lyrics: “I’m going hunting,” according to the Daily Mail.

Wess worked at a tree service, and therefore, possessed tree-climbing skills that would come in handy during wildfires, according to his grandfather. He also had training to use firearms.

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Now-deleted social media pictures (shared by his grandfather) reported by several leading international outlets claimed that the suspected shooter was once seen wearing a T-shirt featuring Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. The group itself was a subject of a past controversy due to its association the musician Kristian ‘Varg’ Vikernes, who is widely labelled a neo-Nazi. Linked to bands like Burzum and Mayhem, Vikernes was once arrested for allegedly plotting terror attack in France.

Three former classmates added to the fears, revealing to USA Today that Wess Roley had “Nazi tendencies” in school. As per their account, the man sketched pictures of guns and swastikas in a notebook and harboured an obsession with guns.

Harry Standley, who played Call of Duty with the accused shooter and even lived in the same neighbourhood as him at one point, said that Wess left high school in the middle of the sophomore year. Roley was possibly expelled “after some trouble with a girl.”

Idaho shooting suspect’s family speaks out

Wess Roley’s family released a statement through their attorney in the wake of the Idaho tragedy, offering their “most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large.”

The statement further read: “There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about. Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well.

“We intend to fully cooperate with authorities in seeking answers. As we also deal with the grief of this heinous tragedy in our own family, we will not be answering any questions outside of law enforcement.”

His grandfather, Dale Roley, told NBC News he actually “really respected law enforcement,” adding that Wess loved firefighters and it made sense for him that he was shooting them. “I know he had been in contact to get a job with a fire department,” he said.

“He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolised… Maybe he got rejected or something.” Daley Roley additionally pointed out that his grandson was 5-foot-8, which could have contributed to him missing out on the opportunity.

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Opening up to the New York Times, the grandfather said that he and Wess were quite close and constantly kept in touch with each other. However, they eventually lost contact after his grandson lost his phone last month.

On the contrary, Roley’s father, who was approached by CNN following his reported death, divulged that he was not close with Wess. The two are said to have last seen each other a year ago at a family function. Wess’ dad reportedly exhibited an abusive demeanour in front of his mother during their turbulent marriage. As Roley lived through a tumultuous childhood, his mother alleged that his father “threatened to sit outside my house with a sniper rifle or burn my house down,” according to court docs.

Wess Roley’s parents got entangled in a messy divorce when he was just 10 years old, as per court documents reviewed by CNN. Upon the divorce’s finalisation in November 2015, his mother was declared his “primary residential parent.” Her Facebook profile shows that they took a vacation to Hawaii just months prior to the shooting.