THE suspected shooter who reportedly started a wildfire to draw firefighters into a trap before gunning them down had posted an eerie message on social media just hours prior to the attack.
Wess Roley, 20, is accused of fatally shooting two firefighters and critically wounding a third near Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday.
Roley was found dead around six hours after fire crews received the initial calls about the blaze in the mountain range.
Cops on Monday shared photos of Roley wearing camouflaged gear that he shared on social media.
He shared lyrics from a Bjork song, warning: “I’m going hunting.”
Investigators are still probing what motivated Roley to carry out the shooting – which has left family members reeling.
Police revealed they didn’t find any manifesto and said he was living out of his car at the time of the attack.
Roley’s grandpa, Dale, said he had no idea his grandson could carry out the killings.
Dale told the New York Times that he was close with Roley, but the pair lost contact around a month ago.
He said that Roley had lost his cell phone.
Dale revealed that his grandson had dreams of becoming a firefighter.
“He loved firefighters,” he told NBC News.
“It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters.
“He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolized.”
Dale speculated that Roley may have been rejected as he said he was actively pursuing that career path.
He suggested his grandson would’ve fitted in well in the fire service because of his tree climbing skills.
“He was just trying to figure his life out,” he told The New York Times.
“He seemed to be a little bit optimistic.”
Dale described his grandson as someone who was sometimes nervous and said he was a kind of loner.
But, he stressed that he had never shown violence toward others.
“Something must’ve snapped. He did have a lot of heart,” Dale said.
Former classmates of Roley told USA Today he had an obsession with guns.
“My good friend saw drawings of swastikas and guns in his notebook,” Harry Standley, who went to middle school with Roley, told the outlet.
Standley and Roley used to play Call of Duty together during their childhood.
Standley also claimed that Roley boasted about wanting to join the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
Cops suspect Roley climbed a tree before opening fire in the Canfield Mountain Range.
John Morrison, of the Coeur D’Alene Fire Department, and Frank J. Harwood have been identified as the victims.
