{"id":23859,"date":"2025-07-25T17:07:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=833307"},"modified":"2025-07-25T17:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:07:29","slug":"man-who-killed-idaho-firefighters-was-turned-away-by-fire-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/man-who-killed-idaho-firefighters-was-turned-away-by-fire-department\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Killed Idaho Firefighters Was Turned Away by Fire Department"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2025\/07\/25\/833307.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2025\/07\/25\/833307.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>The man accused of fatally shooting two Idaho firefighters before killing himself last month had tried to join the fire department, and became angry when told he would need to go through training and testing.<\/p>\n<p>Wess Roley also tried to join the Army twice \u2014 his father was an Army veteran \u2014 but was disqualified after failing to follow through on tasks and appointments, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said Tuesday at a press conference.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>The new revelations offer a more complete picture of the 20-year-old\u2019s resentments. Officials also presented evidence suggesting the attack was premeditated\u2014a goodbye letter to his father they found in his truck and drawings in his home that appear to show a mountain parking lot with a shotgun being fired and a person aiming a rifle at his chin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTomorrow, I shall go to battle,\u201d Roley wrote to his father. \u201cIf I survive, it would be with upmost dishonor. I bid thee farewell.\u201d Next to his signature were two symbols that appear to be runes linked to Nazi ideology.<\/p>\n<p>Roley used gas, lighters and flint to start a series of fires at Canfield Mountain on June 29 to instigate a response, then shot at firefighters who asked him to move his vehicle, Norris said. He shot at others from a tree before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018A Pure Act of Evil\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was a premeditated ambush, a pure act of evil against the people we look to for help,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n<p>Killed were Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, and Coeur d\u2019Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52. Coeur d\u2019Alene Fire Engineer David Tysdal, 47, was hospitalized in critical condition.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Investigators hope to learn more from Roley\u2019s social media accounts, but it\u2019s clear that his frustrations were growing over time, the sheriff said.<\/p>\n<p>Roley tried to become a soldier in Arizona in 2023 and again last year in Hayden, Idaho, \u201cbut failed to follow through on tasks and appointments, eventually being disqualified by the U.S. Army,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n<p>Then, one month before the shootings, Roley went to a Coeur d\u2019Alene fire station asking about becoming a firefighter, Norris said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had the state of mind that he would be able to start that day,\u201d Norris said. \u201cHe was told there\u2019s a process \u2014 you have a written exam, and a physical agility and a background investigation and an oral interview. The contact became agitated and frustrated. He left there in a very frustrated and agitated state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Former Classmate Recalls Shooter as Aggressive<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Beyond what the sheriff shared, little is known about Roley\u2019s motivation, but Associated Press interviews and court records reveal a troubled early home life and a disconnect from schoolmates, who saw him as an aggressive young man who liked to draw bombs and use firearms.<\/p>\n<p>Roley lived with his mother, Heather Caldwell-Cuchiara, and stepfather in Phoenix, Arizona, before moving to northern Idaho to live with his father, Jason Roley, in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Dieter Denen, who went to elementary, middle and high school with Roley, told the AP that Roley\u2019s aggression and \u201cracist\u201d comments made classmates uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was really on edge a lot,\u201d Denen said. Roley would say unkind or rude things to people of a different race, culture or religion, he said. \u201cYou\u2019d kind of go, \u2018what the heck \u2014 why would you say that \u2014 it\u2019s a little messed up to say that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Roley got in trouble for drawing a swastika in a school book, and also liked to draw bombs, planes and \u201cmilitary things,\u201d Denen said. Roley also bragged about his time in Germany: \u201cHe would always tell me, \u201cI\u2019m a lot more German in every way compared to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denen said he couldn\u2019t believe it when a friend texted an article about the shootings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just so shocking,\u201d Denen said. \u201cWith Wess, he was definitely different when we were younger but it\u2019s hard to think that anyone could ever do something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mother Got Protection Order Against His Father<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Court records show his parents, Heather and Jason Roley, were married in San Bernardino, California, in 2008. Jason Roley served in the Army from 2007 to 2015, including two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, and left the service as a staff sergeant, an Army spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>The family lived in Grafenw\u00f6hr, Germany, home to a large U.S. Army base, from 2010 to 2015, when Wess Roley was 5 to 10 years old. Records show his mother filed for divorce after they moved to Phoenix and sought a protection order saying Jason Roley posed a threat to her and their son. Her petition said he was an alcoholic and had been arrested for assaulting her on Oct. 1, 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was very intoxicated,\u201d she wrote. \u201cHe was crying inconsolably saying that he was going to commit suicide. Things escalated. He punched several holes in the walls, destroyed my cell phone, pushed me to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jason Roley texted her after his arrest saying he was going to kill himself, she wrote. \u201cJason verbally threatened me by saying he would be waiting outside with a sniper rifle and burn the place down,\u201d she wrote. \u201cHe said the only thing stopping him from going through with it was going to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018They Did Not Deserve This\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The judge ordered him to stay away from his wife and son and surrender any firearms. \u201cI am not a danger to my son or anyone else,\u201d Jason Roley responded. \u201cThe plaintiff did not tell the truth in her statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The judge apparently believed her after a hearing. His order cited an act of domestic violence and said he might do it again. The protection would continue for the mother, but not their minor child.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, Jason Roley applied for a marriage license, with Sara Peterson. Their social media pages say they\u2019re married and live in Priest River, Idaho, near Sandpoint, where Wess Roley had been living before he became homeless.<\/p>\n<p>Email and phone messages seeking Jason Roley\u2019s comment were not returned. His father, Dale Roley, wrote on Facebook that he\u2019s the grandfather.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like give my Condolence\u2019s to all those family members who were Unfortunately Victims of yesterday\u2019s Crimes,\u201d Dale Roley wrote. \u201cThose good Brave Firefighters were just doing there Job they did not deserve this!\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"833307\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-yes\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! <span class=\"percent\"><\/span>% of people found this article valuable. 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