The eyes of the world were on Coeur d’Alene on June 29, 2025, when a gunman shot three fighters, killing two and grievously wounding a third, in what police described as a “premeditated ambush” on Canfield Mountain. 

Authorities said the 20-year-old gunman lit fires around 1 p.m. on the day of the attack in order to draw first responders to the area. A former law enforcement officer who was hiking on Canfield Mountain spotted the wildfire and called 911. 

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

About 10 minutes later, police said the gunman used a shotgun to shoot Coeur d’Alene Fire Engineer Dave Tysdal in the back. 

The gunman then fired on Coeur d’Alene Battalion Chief John Morrison, 42, who was behind the wheel of a fire rig, and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, who was in the passenger seat. Police said both men died instantly. 

At the time of the shooting, five other firefighters were already up on the mountain, battling the wildfire. 

Badly wounded and unable to move, 47-year-old Tysdal used his chin to press his microphone against his shoulder and activate it. He warned other firefighters that they were taking gunfire. 

“Dave’s the one who got Battalion 5 to get down and get to cover,” Capt. Nate Hyder told The Press a week after the attack. 

About 300 law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies converged on Canfield Mountain during the emergency. It was hours before all personnel and members of the public could be safely extracted from the area where the shooting occurred. 

The attacker died on Canfield Mountain from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.

Tysdal retired from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department in January, after 24 years of service. He left behind a remarkable legacy. 

The veteran firefighter was a founder of Idaho Disaster Dogs, a nonprofit canine search and rescue team and a driving force in establishing the Idaho Technical Rescue in Region 1. He was a subject-matter expert and instructor in all technical rescue disciplines and instrumental in training all fire department personnel in the use of new fire apparatus. 

“There is not an engineer (driver/operator) of our fire apparatus in the last 15 to 20 years who didn’t have Dave as a mentor,” the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department said at the time of Tysdal’s retirement. 

In 2016, Tysdal was honored as Employee of the Year. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the attack on Canfield Mountain.