COEUR d’ALENE — Writings and drawings left behind by the 20-year-old who shot firefighters on Canfield Mountain last month, killing two and grievously wounding a third, appeared to reveal a plan to ambush first responders, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris provided an update on what he called an “active and early-stage” investigation into the June 29 shooting. 

“This was a premeditated ambush, a pure act of evil against the people we look to for help,” Norris said during a news conference Tuesday morning. 

Authorities said Wess Roley lit multiple fires around 1 p.m. in order to draw first responders to the area. A former law enforcement officer who was recreating on Canfield Mountain spotted the wildfire and called 911. 

By 1:40 p.m., firefighters arrived and asked Roley to move his truck, which was parked in the lot near the Nettleton Gulch trailhead. 

The contact with firefighters was “confrontational,” Norris said, and about 10 minutes later, Roley used a pump-action shotgun to shoot Coeur d’Alene Fire Engineer David Tysdal in the back. 

Roley then fired on Battalion Chief John Morrison, who was behind the wheel of a fire rig, and Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, who was in the passenger seat. Both men died instantly, Norris said. 

“Our hearts are with the families who will be forever changed by this horrific act of violence,” Norris said. 

Tysdal sustained severe injuries in the shooting, including shattered ribs, a collapsed lung and spinal swelling that left him unable to move from the chest down. Since then, Tysdal has managed to voluntarily wiggle the toes of his left foot and move his arms, according to the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department. He was transported out of state last week to a specialty rehab facility, where he will continue his recovery. 

At the time of the shooting, authorities said, five other firefighters were already up the mountain, battling the wildfire. It was hours before all personnel and members of the public who had “hunkered down” could be safely extracted from the area where the shooting occurred. 

Nobody was hit when police exchanged gunfire with Roley in a heavily treed area, Norris said. 

Inside Roley’s truck, investigators found a letter he had penned to his father. 

“Tomorrow I shall go into battle,” the letter said in part. “If I survive, it would be with utmost dishonor.” 

Roley died on Canfield Mountain from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Investigators found a shotgun near his body and also recovered a 22-calibur rifle from the scene. Norris said he had legally purchased both firearms. 

A search of Roley’s residence on Sherman Avenue yielded more writings, police said, as well as drawings that depicted violent scenes. One sketch, drawn on paper from a first-person perspective, showed the barrel of a shotgun blasting several figures. The word “kill” was written repeatedly on the paper. 

“I need my blood,” Roley wrote above the scene. 

Another drawing showed several faces with grim expressions. 

“Why will nothing save me?” Roley wrote on the paper. “The end is in my hands.” 

Norris said investigators interpreted some of Roley’s drawings as depictions of the Canfield Mountain parking lot where he ambushed firefighters.

Born in California, Roley lived in Arizona while attending school and moved to Priest River, where he had family, in 2024. For the past six months, he lived a “transient lifestyle” in Kootenai County, according to the sheriff’s office, and lived out of his vehicle. He had several minor contacts with law enforcement last year, police said, after parking his vehicle on private property. 

Roley attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army in 2023, 2024 and 2025, according to the sheriff’s office, but “failed to follow through on tasks and appointments” and was eventually “disqualified.” 

Authorities said Roley entered a Coeur d’Alene fire station in May and asked about becoming a firefighter. 

Roley “became agitated with the process and left frustrated,” Norris said.