Police and fire crews responding to a shooting.
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The alleged shooter who attracted firefighters into the Idaho wilderness using a fire, then shot and killed them, might have had a motive for his actions.

Wess Roley’s grandfather shared a chilling idea that could provide insight into why this attack, which resulted in the deaths of two firefighters and left a third severely injured, took place.

Police and fire crews responding to a shooting.
On Sunday, a fire was started on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and firefighters who responded to the blaze were shotCredit: AP
A young person holding a coconut drink.
Wess Roley, 20, is suspected of baiting out first responders with the fire before shooting and killing two firefightersCredit: Facebook
Printouts of Instagram screenshots showing a suspect's face and social media post.
Moments before the tragedy, he shared an eerie picture of himself wearing camo and dark makeup as a song titled Hunter playedCredit: AP
Map showing the location in Idaho where two firefighters were killed by a shooter.

According to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, the 20-year-old suspect ignited a bush on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene on Sunday morning to draw out the fire crews.

By around 2 pm, crews arrived at the scene to put out the flames, but raced behind their trucks when gunfire rang out.

Roley had positioned himself in the bushes and took aim at the first responders with a shotgun, killing two and hitting a third as flames licked the side of the mountain, cops say.

A now-haunting social media post shared by Roley moments before the shooting showed him wearing all camo with dark makeup smeared on his face as he played a song titled Hunter.

Roley exchanged fire with 300 officials who had raced to the popular hiking spot before turning the gun on himself.

His body was located through cell phone data and quickly recovered before the fire took over the scene.

Since Roley was named as the suspect, friends and family have given an inside look at his apparent mental health decline in the weeks leading up to the attack.

His former roommate, T.J. Franks Jr, who lived with Roley in nearby Sandpoint for six months, said the suspect appeared to “kind of go downhill” before moving out in January.

According to authorities, the shooter was living in his van when he died.

Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, said that the two were close and spoke nearly every week until they fell out of touch about a month ago.

Dale was told that his grandson had lost his phone and couldn’t get in touch.

The grandfather was stunned to learn of the attack, as he said that Roley respected law enforcement and was even interested in becoming a firefighter himself.

He figured “something must have snapped” and even speculated that Roley could have been rejected from the force, Dale told NBC News.

“He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters,” the grandfather told the outlet.

“Maybe he got rejected or something.”

At a press conference on Monday, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said there wasn’t any indication that Roley had applied for the force or filled out an interest form.

Wildland firefighters walking down a dirt road.
Crews hid behind their fire trucks to dodge the bullets after they arrivedCredit: AP
Wess Roley and his mother Heather Lynn Kuuipo Cuchiara posing with rifles.
Roley is seen in an older picture with his momCredit: Facebook

‘LONER’ GRANDSON

Dale admitted to witnessing strange behavioral issues in his grandson, but at the time, he thought it was just normal teenage angst.

He said his grandson sometimes seemed “nervous” and “high strung” and described him as “kind of a loner.”

Former classmates said that Roley struggled in school and would occasionally lash out in anger or talk back to teachers, CNN reported.

One student said that Roley was on the cross-country team, but only ran a few races and couldn’t keep up with his teammates.

However, the heartbroken grandfather stressed that the suspected shooter was never violent with others and spoke hopefully about his future when they chatted.

Cops confirmed the Roley had no criminal history and had only had very minor run-ins with officers in the past.

Investigators are still looking into the motivation behind the shooting.

“He did have a lot of heart,” said Dale.

“I feel real terrible for those killed.

Portrait of Frank Harwood, Kootenai County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief.
Frank Harwood, 42, who worked with Kootenai Fire and Rescue, was killed in the shootingCredit: IAFF 7th District
Portrait of Battalion Chief John Morrison in uniform.
John Morrison, 52, who worked with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, was the second victimCredit: City of Coeur d’Alene
Wildland firefighters at a staging area in a forest.
Over 300 first responders flooded the sceneCredit: AP

VICTIMS NAMED

Frank Harwood, 42, who worked with Kootenai Fire and Rescue, and John Morrison, 52, who worked with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, have been named as the two victims.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said their department is devastated by the tragedy and will now add law enforcement to every call they respond to.

“I don’t know that we’re ever going to be able to guarantee people’s peace of mind, at least for a while after an incident like this,” he said.

“But we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety of our responders.”

Roley had family ties in California and Arizona, and it’s unclear why he was living in Idaho at the time of his death, officials said.

In a statement, the suspect’s family said they were heartbroken to hear of the shooting and are thinking of the victims.

At this time, we, the family of Wess Roley would like to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large,” they told the New York Post through their attorney.

“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.”

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