According to U.S. authorities, 20-year-old Wesley Roland was the arsonist who set a forest on fire in Idaho to lure and kill first responders, resulting in two firefighters losing their lives and a third being hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities are investigating the motive behind the murder of the firefighters in Idaho, while also looking into the suspect’s potential ties with a former white supremacist group known as Aryan Nations.
The dramatic emergency call made by one of the firefighters was released to the public. In the audio obtained by the Daily Mail, the firefighter is heard shouting, “Send forces immediately! There is an active shooting zone!” He continues, stating that two firefighters have already been hit and that he himself is immobilized. Then he yells, “Stop. Don’t come up here.”
Wesley Roland, the 20-year-old suspect, was found dead on Sunday in Idaho, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who explained during a press conference that it appeared he had committed suicide. “We don’t currently have any indication regarding motive,” Norris clarified, but added, “we do have information indicating that at some point he wanted to become a firefighter.” Investigators do not yet know if there is a connection between his desire to be a firefighter and the events that transpired.
Roland, originally from California, had lived in various parts of the American West and had no prior criminal record. In addition to killing two firefighters, he injured a third who required surgery. Authorities confirmed Sunday that they believed the attacker intentionally started the fire and then set up an ambush.
Approximately 300 law enforcement officers were deployed to the mountainous area of Kootenai County, which was shrouded in thick white smoke. Locals noted that the date of the ambush coincided with the arson attack on the Aryan Nations compound 24 years ago in the same area.
The neo-Nazi group was forced to abandon its headquarters in the city after opening fire on a mother and her son who happened to stop near their compound. Their leader, Richard Butler, was ordered to pay a $6.3 million settlement to the victims and later sold the property for $95,000 to a local philanthropist who donated it to the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department to help train firefighters through controlled burns.