PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Two Idaho firefighters were killed, and a third remains in the hospital after they were ambushed Sunday. Authorities said the suspect set the wildfire to lure those first responders to the area.
The two battalion chiefs killed have been identified as Frank Harwood and John Morrison. Firefighter engineer, Dave Tysdal, is recovering following three surgeries.
There are still so many questions surrounding why the suspect, Wess Roley, 20, did this. Authorities said they found his body after the attack and that he’d taken his own life.
Investigators said firefighters spoke with Roley that afternoon, asking him to move his van. But they never expected what followed. Neither did those who knew Roley.
“Honestly, I was just freaking out really bad,” T.J. Franks said. He shared an apartment with the shooter until Roley moved out in January.
“He didn’t have any firearms because that was something I asked when he moved in here,” Franks said. “He traveled very light. He kept most of his stuff in his van. He just had a mattress, and I even let him use a dresser,” Franks continued.
According to Facebook posts from Roley’s mom, he moved to Idaho to live with his dad and work for his business two years ago. Before that, he lived in Arizona and attended North Phoenix Academy.
“He was always different,” Dieter Denan, who went to school with Roley, said. “He would definitely say some questionable things, say some either mean comments, rude comments toward people.”
Denan says Roley often talked about wanting to join the military, claiming he was born in Germany. He also expressed support for the Nazis. “He drew swastikas in a school textbook, or a schoolbook and he got in trouble for it,” Denan said.
Denan moved to Colorado a few years ago and didn’t keep in touch with Roley.
Authorities say that at the time of the attack, the shooter was living in his van. “He did enjoy hunting. There would be pictures of him hunting that he would send us,” Denan said.
Roley’s mother lives in Phoenix. Through an attorney, she expressed condolences for the firefighters killed and said she plans to fully cooperate with investigators.
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