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JUST IN: Idaho Shooter’s Family Breaks Silence

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The parents of suspected Idaho shooter Wess Roley have come forward with a plea to let his family grieve and remember the victims killed in Sunday’s heinous shooting.

In a statement, Roley’s family did not shed light on what may have motivated the 20-year-old man to fire a high-powered sniper rifle at firefighters responding to a blaze that authorities believe he intentionally set. Instead, they offered up prayers for his two victims, both firefighters from Coeur d’Alene and a nearby town.

“At this time, we, the family of Wess Roley would like to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large,” Roley’s family said through an attorney.

“There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about,” they continued.

“Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well.”

The family noted that they are cooperating with investigators and reminded the public that they too are “deal[ing] with the grief of this heinous tragedy in our own family.”

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Harwood, 42, and Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52, were pronounced dead after taking gunfire from Roley around 1:30 p.m. on Canfield Mountain. A third firefighter, also from Coeur d’Alene, is believed to be in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery at a nearby hospital on Monday.

Roley is believed to have drawn firefighters to the mountainside town with an intentional brushfire before shooting them with a “modern, high-caliber” sniper rifle, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris stated on Sunday.

Norris confirmed that his department, working in conjunction with the FBI, “had information” gleaned from Roley’s social media pages suggesting a motive behind the deadly shooting spree.

Photographs of Roley obtained by the Daily Mail show the young man sporting a balaclava and hunting rifle in pictures he posted online.

“I’m going hunting,” he captioned one photo, quoting a Bjork song.

Family members who have spoken with the media say that Roley grew up around firearms and was trained to hunt wild hogs.

Sheriff Norris described the attack as a “total ambush” and something that none of the firefighters had ever trained to encounter.

“These firefighters did not have a chance,” he said.

During a press conference on Monday evening, Norris provided additional details about Roley, including that authorities believe he was living in a van at the time of the shooting.

“We still have the suspect’s vehicle down an embankment of the mountain,” Norris said.

“Deputies who responded on the scene thought it would be in their best interest to get rid of what they thought was Roley’s vehicle.

“They pushed it over the side so that he couldn’t get in it and flee,” he added.

“It did appear that he was living in the vehicle. There was a lot of debris that was in the vehicle (but) we have not verified or found any manifesto, or done an inventory of that vehicle.”

Norris confirmed that Roley had never had serious run-ins with the local police department apart from a few “wellness checks” over the years.