A killer sniper’s body was recovered after he deliberately started a brush fire to bring firefighters to a mountain before shooting two of them dead. 

The unidentified ambush killer was found dead near his gun on Canfield Mountain outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Sunday evening.

His cellphone signal was used to pinpoint his whereabouts and law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

He was later found dead close to his gun, but Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris says it’s still unclear if the sniper was killed by a cop’s bullet – or if he took his own life on realizing there was no way out.  

The sniper’s body was pulled away from the scene just as the blaze the sniper started began to spread across Canfield Mountain.  

The fire was first reported at around 1.21pm. Two local firefighters – one from Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and another from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue – were shot and killed while scoping out the scene.

A third was left ‘fighting for his life’ after being struck and rushed to surgery, but is now described as being in a stable condition. 

Police are now investigating whether the gunman may have made the original call to 911 about the fire on Canfield Mountain in an effort to get firefighters to the scene, with Norris saying he is not ruling out the possibility. 

‘This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance,’ Norris said. The identity of the firefighters and shooter has not yet been released. 

Harrowing fire department scanner calls revealed the terror the first responders faced as they arrived on the scene. 

‘Send law enforcement right now! There’s an active shooter zone,’ one firefighter could be heard crying out.

‘Everybody’s shot up here!’ the firefighter continued, noting that two battalion chiefs were ‘down’ and he was ‘pinned.’

He was later heard warning his fellow firefighters, ‘Stop. Do not come up here.’

‘It’s clear to me that this fire was set intentionally to draw us in,’ the firefighter claimed. 

Another firefighter was later heard telling dispatch he had ‘no idea where the shooters [are] at or where they’re going in, in which direction,’ one person could be heard telling dispatch.

‘I would recommend that our units, all of our firing units, escape further down the pavement towards town, maybe a half a mile or so to a safe staging area,’ the first responder said, according to NBC News. 

He continued to say they were going to need ‘multiple ambulances’ at the scene.

‘As soon as we get law enforcement in here to get these people out, I recommend we get no less than five… ambulances staged at the bottom. I don’t care where we get them from.’ 

The firefighters were ultimately forced to pull back, with Northern Lakes Fire District Chief Pat Riley telling KHQ he would not be deploying any more crew members until the threat was neutralized.

Meanwhile, the blaze continued to grow to cover 20 acres and the gunman kept shooting. 

The rapid-fire shooting eventually 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.  

When Fire Chief Riley got the news of the ambush, he said he ‘was completely heartbroken.’

‘We trained for this. You never want to see it in your own community.’

Life Flight helicopters were deployed to the scene, and photos and videos posted online showed a large police presence in the surrounding area.

Authorities from Spokane, Washington provided assistance in what they described on social media as an ‘active, ongoing incident’ on East Nettleton Gulch Road.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also confirmed on social media that assets were heading to the scene to provide ‘tactical and operational support,’ and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the US Forest Service deployed additional firefighting and law enforcement resources.

Additionally, law enforcement agents and medical professionals were on standby at Kootenai Health.

By around 4.30pm, Sheriff Norris gave law enforcement the authority to shoot to kill the gunman if they were given the opportunity.

He even deployed two helicopters with snipers to take out the gunman. 

‘I am hoping someone has a clear shot, they are not showing any signs of wanting to surrender,’ Norris said of the shooter at an earlier news conference, adding that it is ‘going to be a tough couple of hours.’

It is now believed the deceased gunman was the only shooter in the attack ‘based on the trajectory [of the bullets] and based on the type of weapons that this individual had that we could recover,’ Norris said.

He explained that it is likely the gunman was running as he fired, as he announced ‘there is no threat to the community at this time.’ 

Yet the suspect’s motive for the shooting remains unclear.

An investigation into the shooting will continue on Monday, when Norris said he expects to find more weapons that were left at the scene.

Those efforts, though, may also be hindered by the ongoing blaze.

Resident Mark Lathrop had earlier said he was more concerned about the fire than he did about the active shooting.

‘They have cleared the underbrush, but where they’re going to be, it’s going to be pretty thick and it’s very, very dry. We haven’t had a lot of rain here,’ he told CNN.

Meanwhile, Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the attack a ‘heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.

‘I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more,’ he said, adding that he and his wife are ‘heartbroken’ by the news.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said her department was monitoring the situation.

‘Pray for Idaho’s first responders,’ she wrote on X. ‘Justice will be served.’