At least two people were killed in Idaho on Sunday afternoon after firefighters were ambushed in a sniper attack as they responded to a fire call in a rugged mountain area, the authorities said.
Officials said that it was unclear how many shooters might be involved but said that firefighters were still being shot at. Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at an evening news conference that the number of causalities was unknown and “we are actively taking sniper fire as we speak.”
“We don’t know who the suspects are,” he said. “We don’t know how many there are.” He added: “We don’t know if it’s one, two, three or four.”
“If these individuals are not neutralized quickly, this will likely be a multiday operation,” he added.
Every firefighter I know owns and is competent with firearms, but it will really hamper the business of fighting fires if we also have to hunt snipers. I have heard stories of arsonists who were left to burn up in the fires they started before those fires were extinguished, however. I'm sure those are just folk tales.
