EBS STAFF
Just after midnight on July 4, Yellowstone National Park’s 911 dispatch center received a report that a woman had been held against her will by a man with a gun in a residence at Canyon Village. She told law enforcement that the suspect–identified Tuesday as Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida, and a Xanterra Parks and Resorts employee–threatened to kill her and others, including plans to allegedly carry out mass shootings at July 4 events outside the park.
Park officials were deployed to Fussner’s location near Canyon Lodge, an employee housing building, by around 8 a.m. According to a July 9 release by the National Park Service, Fussner walked toward the service entrance of the occupied facility firing a semi-automatic rifle. Yellowstone law enforcement rangers confronted Fussner and during gunfire, Fussner was shot by therangers. One ranger was shot in a lower extremity and suffered injuries.
Aid was administered to the injured law enforcement ranger and Fussner. Fussner died at the scene; the injured ranger was transported to an area hospital and has since been released. The release stated that law enforcement involved will be placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, and body camera footage of the incident will be released within 30 days.
“Thanks to the heroic actions of our law enforcement rangers, many lives were saved here last Thursday,” Park Superintendent Cam Sholly stated in the release. “These rangers immediately confronted this shooter and took decisive action to ensure he was no longer a threat to public safety. We are working now to provide maximum support to those involved and their families. We appreciate the support of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Park Service, Department of the Interior, and many other partners as we continue to manage through the aftermath of this incident.”
