The Idaho shooting suspect allegedly who killed two firefighters and injured a third on Sunday had previously expressed a desire to become a firefighter himself.
Wess Roley, the accused gunman from a family of arborists, had been working in the tree service industry while exploring career options in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He allegedly started a brush fire and then began shooting from a tree on responding firefighters before turning the gun on himself, CNN reported.
His grandfather said the 20-year-old had once hoped to become a firefighter.
"He wanted to be a fireman, he was doing tree work and he wanted to be a fireman in the forest," Dale Roley, the alleged gunman's grandfather, told CNN. "As far as I know, he was actually pursuing it."
Dale Roley said he typically spoke with his grandson weekly but hadn't heard from him in the past month after Wess lost his phone and, according to police, had been living out of his vehicle. The car remains at the scene.
"It wasn't like he was a loner," Dale Roley told the outlet. "We had no reason to suspect that he would be involved in something like this," adding that he was still hoping his grandson was not the shooter.
Wess Roley, who owned a shotgun and a long rifle, had no criminal record, though Kootenai County police had minor interactions with him on five occasions.
His former roommate, TJ Franks, whom he met through the tree service industry, said they previously lived together in Sandpoint, Idaho. Wess was forced to move out in January after making "threatening gestures" toward a security camera, prompting a 911 call.
"My whole family met him. It was just scary, because, I don't know, he could have flipped at any time," Franks told KING.
The ex-roommate said they never had a conversation that hinted at a motive, and authorities have not found a manifesto.
"I never thought we would see something like this happening, especially with somebody that we know," Franks added. "It's really heartbreaking and scary."
Originally published on Latin Times
