At least two people were shot and killed on Sunday when a convoy of firefighters answering a wildfire in northern Idaho was fired at by unknown gunmen, local officials confirmed. A standoff between authorities and the shooter or shooters remains in progress in Kootenai County.
The shooting occurred on a mountainside tract famous for hiking trails, where the fire was still burning. Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris addressed the media, confirming the deaths and indicating the situation as extremely hazardous.
"We've got two fatalities. We have a number of casualties unknown. We've still got civilians filtering off of this mountain. We're currently taking sniper fire as we speak," Sheriff Norris said at a press conference.
The shooters had high-powered rifles, according to Norris. He added that law enforcement's task is to find the threat and eliminate it as quickly as possible.
"There is no suggestion the gunman wishes to surrender," he said. "The moment anyone has a clear shot, I urge them to take the shot to neutralize the threat."
Norris said the two confirmed dead are thought to have been members of the fire department. He stated the suspects are not thought to be taking cover inside buildings but are rather hiding in "heavy brush," camouflaged with their surroundings.
"They were well-prepared," he said, adding that the investigators don't know the number of gunmen. "We don't know if there's one, two, three, or four."
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino called the scene "an active scene" and verified that federal agents are being sent in to provide tactical and operational support.
Television images and footage aired by NBC News depicted heavy, white smoke billowing from the wooded hills where the wildfire still raged.
Local fire chief Pat Riley described the assault as "heartbreaking" and agreed that no evacuation orders had been issued to date, even with the ongoing fire.
Addressing local station KHQ, Riley was concerned with the spread of the fire but said: "To what degree, I can't say, because we can't get people to where the fire's at." He could not verify the number of fatalities but felt that they were all firefighters.
The government has requested local residents to stay indoors until the situation is under control.
Gun violence continues to be a priority concern within the United States, with firearm laws widely differing from state to state. In spite of wide public support for increased gun control, weapons are still relatively easily accessed in much of the nation.
This year, as of now, there have been 189 mass shootings in the United States, reports the Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting is defined by the organization as a scenario where four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter.
Responding to the Idaho tragedy, Governor Brad Little called the ambush "a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters."
Posting on Facebook, he stated that he was "heartbroken" by the accident.
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