Multiple police officers and firefighters were reportedly shot while responding to a fire in Idaho in what authorities have described as an ambush.
The unidentified shooter reportedly set the blaze as bait for the first responders in Coeur d’Alene and began firing as they arrived on the scene.
‘My immediate reaction was completely heartbroken,’ Northern Lakes Fire District Chief Pat Riley told KHQ.
‘We trained for this. You never want to see it in your own community.’
The shooting prompted the evacuation of the Fernan Gun Club, whose members were told there was a sniper in the area, the Coeur d’Alene Press reports.
Residents are now being asked to avoid the area surrounding Canfield Mountain, with Riley noting that fire crews were forced to pull back and the brush fire remains an active threat.
Kootenai County Emergency Management also urged those who are in the area to shelter in place.
Authorities from Spokane, Washington are now heading south to provide assistance in what they described on social media as an ‘active, ongoing incident’ on East Nettleton Gulch Road.
Law enforcement agents and medical professionals are also on standby at Kootenai Health.
The number of officers and firefighters who were injured in the attack remains unclear. Local reports indicate Life Flight helicopters have been deployed to the scene.
Police officers and firefighters who responded to the scene of a brush fire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho were reportedly shot at
It is believed a shooter set a fire intentionally to draw first responders to the scene
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
