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A gunman suspected of having started a fire to “ambush” firefighters in Idaho and kill them has been named as Wess Val Roley.

The 20-year-old is said to have aspired to become a firefighter before the attack on Sunday, which saw him allegedly perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters as they sought to put out a fire, which authorities believe he intentionally started.

Two firefighters were killed and one was injured as they came under gunfire over several hours, according to authorities.

An armoured police vehicle where multiple firefighters were attacked when responding to a fire.
Pic: Reuters
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An armoured police vehicle near where the firefighters were attacked. Pic: Reuters

They said the incident took place after they asked him to move his vehicle.

Roley was later found dead in the mountains with a firearm nearby.

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Sky News’ US partner network NBC quoted Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, as saying “something must have snapped” in his grandson for him to commit such violence.

“He actually really respected law enforcement,” Mr Roley said. “He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters. Maybe he got rejected or something.”

Mr Roley added: “I know he had been in contact to get a job with a fire department.

“He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolised.”

Bob Norris, the sheriff of Kootenai County, said on Sunday: “We do believe that the suspect started the fire.

“This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”

Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The firefighters were responding to a blaze. Pic: Reuters

Officers said they were “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, with crews responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain.

Mr Norris said the gunman had used high-powered sporting rifles to fire rapidly at first responders. The ambush continued for several hours.

More than 300 officers from city, county, state and federal levels responded. Two helicopters were deployed with snipers onboard.

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First responders could be heard making urgent calls for help on their radios. “Everybody’s shot up here… send law enforcement now,” one dispatch said.

Later, the sheriff’s office said members of a SWAT team “located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain”, adding that a “firearm was found nearby”.

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Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has sparked ugly debate – so why is it so controversial?

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Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' has sparked ugly debate - so why is it so controversial?

It is certainly big – 940 pages long – but on the question of beauty, Congress is divided.

Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has sparked ugly debate – both for its ambitious scope and for the political manoeuvring that’s gone on around it.

Elon Musk branded it “political suicide” for Republicans and threatened to fund challenges against those who back it in next year’s midterm elections.

But the president hit back, suggesting he would consider cutting Musk’s lucrative government contracts or even deporting him back to South Africa.

The “big, beautiful bill”, or HR 1 to give the proposed legislation its proper title, is Mr Trump’s signature spending and tax policy.

It extends tax cuts he secured in 2017 and bankrolls his second-term agenda in the White House.

File pic: Reuters
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File pic: Reuters

Here is a summary of the key points:

Permanent tax cuts: Extending relief from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Small business support: Doubling the small business expensing limit to $2.5m (£1.8m) to help businesses expand and hire staff

Child tax credit: Expanding the child tax credit and making it permanent, benefiting 40 million families

Making housing affordable: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit to kickstart construction of affordable homes

Defence and border security: Allocating $170bn (£123bn) for border security alone, including $46bn (£33bn) for completing the border wall

Made-in-America incentives: Providing tax breaks and incentives for domestic manufacturing to promote US industry

Healthcare and social welfare: Implementing restrictions on Medicaid, which provides healthcare for millions of Americans, and reducing funding for certain healthcare and nutrition programmes.

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Clash over ‘monster’ debt bill

Musk, Mr Trump’s former ally and the man who established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, the biggest increase in history.”

“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” was President Trump’s response.

The national debt currently stands at $37trn (£27trn) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill could add $2.4trn (£1.7trn) to that over the next decade.

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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk

Bill splits Republican ranks

Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill and, following criticism from the president, announced he would not seek re-election in North Carolina.

He said he couldn’t support it due to his concerns about the impact cuts to Medicaid would have on people in his state.

Democrats in the Senate forced a full reading of all 940 pages and then a vote-a-rama, a series of marathon voting sessions.

Read more from Sky News:
Elon’s dad on the Musk-Trump bust-up
How Musk’s cost-cutting mission fell flat

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In the House of Representatives, it passed by a single vote, 215-214. In the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, had to cast the deciding vote to break a tie (50-50).

Legislatively, the progress of the bill has been a case study in the complexities of American law-making.

Strategically, it represents a mammoth effort to consolidate the president’s policy agenda and secure his legacy.

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment – but there are still many unanswered questions

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment - but there are still many unanswered questions

In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.

For the people of Gaza, for the Israeli hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.

The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?

At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached.

“Israel is opposed to this. At this point, only President Trump can break this deadlock.”

The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”

Israel-Gaza – live updates

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Will Trump achieve a Gaza ceasefire?

The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.

We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.

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Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return?

We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.

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Dozens killed at beachfront cafe in Gaza

We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.

Read more:
British-Israeli soldier killed in Gaza
‘Almost 60 killed in Israeli strikes’

If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.

It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.

Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war, safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.

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What is ‘Alligator Alcatraz’?

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What is 'Alligator Alcatraz'?

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Mark Stone and David Blevins unpick the latest development in Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan – a detention centre in the Florida Everglades nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”.

They also discuss the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which has narrowly passed in the Senate. The legislation likely to define Trump’s second term is now one step closer to becoming law.

And there’s breaking news to digest on US weapons to Ukraine, as well as a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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