The chilling audio of a firefighter calling for police backup in Idaho after his colleagues were shot dead reveals the terror in his voice as he tells the operator, ‘Everybody’s shot. ‘.

Two firefighters lost their lives and another was seriously injured after they were ambushed and shot by a sniper in camouflage while responding to a wildfire near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at Canfield Mountain early Sunday afternoon. Upon their arrival, they came under fire.

The gunman had intentionally started the fire to lure the firefighters into an ambush. A terrified firefighter managed to call the police.

“Hello, send law enforcement right now. There’s an active shooter zone. They’re shot. BC 3 is down, BC1 is down. Everybody’s shot up here,” the surviving firefighter said.

“These firefighters did not have a chance,” stated Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, reports the Mirror US.

A firefighter from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and one from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue succumbed to their injuries en route to the hospital. A third firefighter was severely injured but survived surgery and was “fighting for his life,” Norris added.

The deliberately ignited fire, now known as the Nettleton Gulch Fire, continues to rage, claiming two more lives and injuring another overnight. Firefighters are persisting in their efforts to contain the blaze, but ‘are dealing with rough terrain,’ according to the Idaho Department of Land.

Harrowing images captured the frightening scenes as law enforcement officials swiftly responded to the area, enforcing lockdowns in nearby neighbourhoods and urgently hunting for the shooter.

Several hours after sniper fire targeted federal, state and local law enforcement officers, the Kootenai County Sheriff‘s office confirmed that a ‘deceased male has been found on Canfield Mountain,’ believed to be the suspect.

The suspect has been identified as Wess Roley who was confirmed dead late Sunday night following hours of gunfire exchange with officers. A firearm was discovered near his body, according to law enforcement reports.

In a solemn display of solidarity on Sunday, residents of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, lined the streets with American flags as an “impromptu procession” of police cars and fire engines passed by in tribute to the two firefighters who lost their lives responding to wildfires.

The fallen firefighters were transported to Spokane, as announced by Couer d’Alene Fire, while members of the public assembled on overpasses in North Idaho to pay their respects. The names of the deceased have not yet been disclosed.

“We have two deaths and an unknown amount of casualties. We still have civilians coming off of that mountain. We might have civilians who are stuck or are in shock on that mountain,” Norris had previously stated.

“You can expect some of these things to occur in a urban setting but in a rural setting? This is very, very, very rare,” Norris later commented at the press conference.