Following the mortal ambush on firefighters who responded in Coeur d’Airne, Idaho, the suspect’s grandfather spoke with ABC News on Monday, sharing his pain for those killed and wounded in the attack.
The officials responsible for enforcing the law identified Wess Roley as the alleged gunman in the ambush on Sunday that left two killed firefighters and another injured.
She was found dead in the Canfield mountain after a one -hour tight hunt with a nearby shotgun, said the Kootenai County Sheriff’s office. The authorities believe he shot after the attack.
Speaking by phone in an interview recorded with ABC News, as seen in “World News Tonight With David Muir”, a man who describes himself as Wess Roley’s paternal grandfather, Dale Roley, said he was surprised to hear that his grandson was named as suspicious in the mortal ambush.
“Nobody wants to think that your son or grandson will do this,” said Dale Roley.
The authorities shared an image of a publication on the social networks of the suspicious Wess Roley during a press conference in Hayden, Idaho, June 30, 2025.
ABC News
Dale Roley said that those killed while responding to the brush fire, that officials believe that the suspect began deliberately before the ambush, “he did not deserve it.”
“I feel sadder for the people who were killed than for him because they did not deserve it. It was alone, they did not go to war. This was not part of their work description.”
He said that the last time he talked to Wess Roley was about four weeks ago, when he said his grandson lost his cell phone and apparently replaced him.
Dale Roley said her grandson went to work for a tree company in Idaho about a year ago, but she didn’t know what company.
“He had his own apartment. It was fine,” said Dale Roley. “I had money. I used to walk in that park all the time. I know because I had told me about it.”
Dale Roley said that after Wess graduated from high school in Arizona, he came and lived with him in Oklahoma for almost nine months before Wess moved to Idaho, where his father lives.
That’s where Wess began working for a tree company, said Dale Roley, adding that in the last six months, his grandson seemed to become “a kind of lonely.”
Two people are dead after firefighters were ambushed by an armed man, or multiple gunmen, while responding to a fire in Coeur d’A Alene, Idaho, authorities said.
KXLY
In a statement on Wednesday, Wess Roley’s Family lawyer, Justin P. Whittenon, shared a statement on behalf of the family, saying that “they intend to cooperate completely with the authorities in the search for answers.”
“At this time, to us, to the family of Wess Roley, offer our most sincere condolences to the families of those whose lives were already carried out the community of Coeur d’Alene in general,” said the family in the statement.
“There are no words that can be enough for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how it arose,” the family added.
“Our hearts and spirits are broken by the lost and hurt, and also by our own loss,” said the statement.
