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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