Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris addresses the press following a deadly snip$r ambush on Canfield Mountain, near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Two firefighters were fatally shot while responding to a wildfire, as law enforcement took $niper fire for hours. The shooter remains at large in the rugged mountain terrain, and the area is still considered extremely dangerous. The FBI has joined local and state authorities in a massive manhunt. Governor Brad Little has called it a "heinous assault" on first responders.
This live press conference gives crucial updates on the shooter situation, casualties, law enforcement response, and the ongoing wildfire that crews can’t access due to the threat.
00:00Okay, my name is Robert Norris. I am the Sheriff of Kootenay County.
00:04This information is very preliminary and is subject to change.
00:08We want to give you and the public as much information as quickly as possible.
00:12So at approximately 1.21 p.m. this afternoon
00:16we received reports of a fire on the east side of Canfield Mountain.
00:20Fire assets responded to the scene
00:24and at approximately 2 p.m. this afternoon
00:28it was reported that firefighters were receiving
00:32shots fired at them.
00:36We now have two deaths.
00:40We have an unknown amount of casualties. We still have civilians
00:44that are coming off of that mountain. We might have civilians that
00:48are stuck or in shock on that mountain.
00:52So this is a very, very fresh
00:56situation.
00:58We are actively taking
01:00sniper fire as we speak.
01:02This is an
01:04active situation.
01:06We have multiple
01:08agencies that are on scene
01:10from local and federal
01:12authorities and
01:14we are prepared to
01:16neutralize this suspect who is
01:18currently actively
01:20shooting at
01:22public safety personnel.
01:24We are prepared to
01:26neutralize this suspect as quickly
01:28as possible.
01:30And that's
01:32really all that
01:34we know as of right now.
01:36We don't know who the suspects are.
01:38We don't know how many there are.
01:40So I know
01:44that it's
01:46very, very, very early
01:48and I don't think that any questions
01:50would yield anything.
01:52But Chief,
01:54do you have anything?
01:56Was I accurate in what we were reporting?
01:58Yes.
02:00Okay.
02:02So we'll take a couple questions, but
02:04I'd like to remind you that's
02:06they're very preliminary and I'm not so sure
02:08we're going to have any additional information.
02:10On the original KXOY,
02:12the two deaths, are they
02:14fighter personnel that have died?
02:16We know that there's two deaths
02:18and we believe that
02:20they are, yes.
02:22Have they been taken off of the mountain?
02:24Yeah, no.
02:26We're still in that process.
02:28Ian Brown, Krentu.
02:30You mentioned that
02:32there are multiple people
02:34that have been shot.
02:36Do you have an exact number at the moment?
02:38No. Nope.
02:39We do not.
02:40Alex, I'm with a spokesman.
02:42How are you going about evacuating people
02:44from the mountain or getting personnel
02:46out of there who are being shot at?
02:48I mean, what does that process look like?
02:50Right now, we're developing a plan
02:52to be able to suppress these
02:54individuals'
02:56firefighting capability
02:58and when we get that under control,
03:00when we have an opportunity
03:02to suppress that, then we will
03:04continue our removing
03:06of people who are on the mountain,
03:08who are on for a hike,
03:10or public safety personnel,
03:12or people who live on the
03:14back side of the mountain.
03:16Do we have any indication of what type of
03:18firearms are being used in this?
03:20Well, it appears that
03:22modern-day sporting rifles are being used.
03:24It appears that
03:26high-powered rifles are being used.
03:28How many acres is this fired?
03:30I don't know.
03:32It started out as a half-acre.
03:34Do we know about how many minutes after
03:38shots were fired when fire crews arrived?
03:40Well, we got the first call at 1-21,
03:44and we have reports that
03:48they were taking shots
03:50at about 2 o'clock.
03:52I don't know what time they arrived on scene.
03:54I don't know what time the firefighters arrived on scene,
03:56but we can get you that information
03:58at the next briefing if you'd like.
04:00How many engines were on scene
04:02when shots were fired?
04:04Do you know that?
04:06Three?
04:08Can we wait three?
04:10And just to be clear,
04:12the people who responded,
04:14they were wildland firefighter,
04:16or they were local firefighters
04:18fighting a wildland firefighter?
04:20Yes, sir?
04:22When the shots were fired,
04:24were they at an accelerated rate,
04:25or were they at a single shot?
04:26Oh, no.
04:27We're taking rapid fire up there.
04:30In the back?
04:32Do you keep referring to individuals?
04:36Are you referring to the casualties,
04:38or like even other suspects you believe me?
04:40Well, we don't know how many suspects are up there,
04:42and we don't know how many casualties that there are.
04:44Yeah, I suspect we'll have people coming forward that maybe are stuck up there,
04:52that drove themselves to the hospital,
04:55but I suspect that would likely be the case.
04:58Do we have confirmation that there are people stuck up there?
05:02We, people are still coming off the mountain,
05:05so it would only be safe to assume that the mountain is not clear.
05:09As of right now, is there an active threat to the...
05:12Absolutely, absolutely there is.
05:15Okay.
05:16Has there been a shelter-in-place order put forth?
05:18Yes, there has.
05:19And I would encourage all of you to tell people to stay away from the area.
05:23Do not come to the area.
05:25Stay away from the area.
05:26This is going to be,
05:28if these individuals are not neutralized quickly,
05:32this is going to be likely a multi-day operation.
05:37Okay.
05:38Here's a question.
05:39So is the suspect in a, in a home up there?
05:41Are they,
05:42do we have an indication of where they might be on the mountain?
05:46Yeah, we,
05:47we don't believe that they're in a home up there at this time.
05:52So they're just kind of out in the open, firing?
05:55Well, they're heavy brush, well-prepared.
05:59So, yeah, they're, they're blending in with the, their surroundings.
06:05Sheriff Morris?
06:06Go ahead.
06:07Did we, did you mention that the person that called it in is most likely to shoot her?
06:11No.
06:12Okay.
06:13No, we didn't say that.
06:14We said the first call was at 121 on a fire,
06:16and then we started receiving over our radio that the firefighters, firefighters were receiving shots fired from the mountain.
06:25Sheriff, has anything happened like this before?
06:27And if so, do you think you and other law enforcement entities would be more aware going forward?
06:33You know, this is an interesting dynamic.
06:35This, you know, we, we have seen some of these things in a urban environment where firefighters were in a urban setting putting out firefighters during civil disobedience getting shot at.
06:52I've seen that.
06:53I can't say that I've seen it in a rural setting myself, but I have seen it in an urban setting frequently where firefighters do get shot at in,
07:04you know, civil unrest.
07:06Yes.
07:07So do we know if there's one or two here?
07:10We, we don't know if there's one, two, three, or four.
07:12Yeah.
07:13We, we don't know.
07:14Just for the fire, the fire itself, firefighting efforts, is it contained?
07:19Is it still spreading?
07:20What would it look like?
07:21Well, it's, it's gonna, it's gonna keep burning because we can't put a lot of resources on there right now, but chief.
07:27We won't put any resources on there until the threat is neutralized.
07:31Do we have like a risk of wildfire?
07:32Is it high winds?
07:33Is that gonna fuel the fire or anything?
07:35Or is it?
07:36We're at a high state right now in wild land.
07:38So it'll, it'll calm down as the evening progresses, but then it'll pick back up tomorrow.
07:44And hopefully this is neutralized by then.
07:47Sheriff Norris, how are you feeling about this overall from when you first got the call to just now from what you've done?
07:54You know what, I, I, it's gonna be the tough next couple hours.
07:59Yeah, absolutely.
08:01I, I'm, I'm hoping that somebody has a, a clear shot and is able to neutralize because they are not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender.
08:14So as soon as somebody has a clear shot, I encourage them to take that shot and neutralize the threat.
08:21I've seen several lifelight helicopters coming in and out.
08:25Are there any other air resources that are being used at the moment?
08:29Oh yeah, we have our, uh, emergency operations bureau that is containing assets.
08:34And whenever a situation goes beyond the local resources, which this has, like I said, we have other counties that are here.
08:42We have, uh, federal authorities that are here.
08:44And, uh, we will neutralize this threat.
08:49And so we touched on this with the suspects.
08:52You know, we know there is at least one, but you said possibly others.
08:55Is it coming from multiple different locations that bullets are coming from that might indicate?
09:01Yes.
09:02Oh yeah.
09:03Yep.
09:04Yep.
09:05So it's coming from not just one.
09:06Yeah, it's, but it's what the officers and deputies are reporting up on the mountain right now.
09:09So.
09:10Have any officers been hit?
09:12As of right now, we don't have any officers that have been hit.
09:17Okay.
09:18Can you just, can you just confirm, list all the law enforcement employees that are here on the team?
09:23Well, I have not gotten a list yet, but however, if, uh, I mean, pretty much everybody that's, uh, in this region, we have some Spokane resources that are here.
09:33Uh, we have, uh, Marshall's office that is on scene.
09:36Bonner County Sheriff's here.
09:38Uh, Coeur d'Alene police, of course, is here.
09:40Um, Idaho state police, but, uh, we, uh, we have a multitude of resources right now.
09:48So, okay, um, what we'll do is, uh, Lieutenant Mark Ellis is, uh, going to be, um, our, one of our press, uh, relations here.
10:01And we'll determine what time we'll do another press, uh, conference.
10:06Um, or if the next one will just be a press release.
10:10So, uh, I'm thinking it'll probably be a press conference.
10:13And it'll probably be, uh, somewhere in the next three or four hours.
10:18Unless something significant happens before then.
10:21Okay.
10:23Thank you very much.
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