Idaho Ambush Sniper Revealed: Inside Wess Roley’s Chilling Attack
You’re probably wondering what went down, so let me dumb it down for you. On June 30, 2025, Idaho’s Canfield Mountain became ground zero for a horrifying ambush when 20-year-old Wess Roley allegedly set a forest fire only to turn his rifle on the very firefighters rushing in to douse it. TMZ first confirmed Roley’s identity via a law enforcement source, and local news outlets quickly picked up on the grim details.
Roley’s remains never saw the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office in Coeur d’Alene—because they don’t store bodies—so he was officially sent over state lines to the Spokane, Washington Medical Examiner’s Office (Spokane Spokesman-Review). That alone gives you a sense of how chaotic things got when nearly 300 officers fanned out across dense woods, following Roley’s last pings on his cell phone.
If you’ve seen the haunting mugshot doing the rounds, you know Roley is staring straight into the camera with a glare that’s creepier than most horror movies. After allegedly luring first responders to the blaze, he opened sniper-style fire, wounding two firefighters—one fatally—and critically injuring a third. Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris later confirmed in a press briefing that the standoff ended with Roley dead, but we still don’t know whether he was taken down by police bullets or turned his gun on himself.
Authorities are tight-lipped on the motive, which is apparently lost somewhere between Roley’s social media (where he posted cryptic messages) and the scorch marks he left behind. There’s no autopsy report yet, so forensic experts in Spokane are probably having the time of their lives combing through evidence. Meanwhile, local TV station KHQ-TV and TMZ have corroborated the shooter’s timeline and his movements before the blaze, but nothing concrete has emerged about why he targeted those firefighters.
Is this a case of a twisted vigilante or an unhinged loner? We’re all waiting for the Spokane Medical Examiner’s findings and the FBI’s statement on whether federal charges will follow. In the meantime, community vigils are being held in Coeur d’Alene to honor the fallen heroes, and law enforcement has increased patrols in the surrounding forests.
Stick around, because as soon as autopsy details drop or the motive is revealed, you’ll want the play-by-play. Hope that clears things up for you—feel free to bookmark this for when the next update rolls in. Glad I could spell it out.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Spokane Spokesman-Review, KHQ-TV
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
