A Yellowstone National Park worker who was shot and killed by a park ranger on the morning of July 4th had intended to carry out a mass shooting that same day, park officials have said.
Suspect Samson Lucas Barrier Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida, was killed in a shootout with rangers in the early hours of the Fourth of July after holding a woman against her will in the park’s Canyon Village complex.
The National Park Service (NPS) said the woman told park rangers that Fussner had threatened to kill her and others and that he also planned to carry out a shooting at a July 4th event outside the park. Fussner was an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private company authorized to operate in Yellowstone.
Suspect killed, police injured in Yellowstone National Park shooting
Yellowstone National Park was the world’s first national park, and for good reason: You can explore mountains, see wildlife and enjoy the beauty of the natural world. Pictured is a sign at the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (DEA/W. BUSS/De Agostini via Getty Images)
More than 20 law enforcement officers, including a National Park Service special response team, found Fussner around 8 a.m. near Canyon Lodge, a staff and public dining facility that was home to about 200 people at the time. The building is located in northwest Wyoming and is popular with visitors to the historic park.
Fusner was reportedly walking toward the facility’s service entrance while firing a semi-automatic rifle when several officers engaged him.
Entrance sign along U.S. Highway 212 at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is on U.S. Highway 212, a few miles west of Cooke City, Montana, as you enter Wyoming. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
During the shootout, Hussner was shot dead by police rangers.
Additionally, one law enforcement ranger was shot in the lower leg and taken to a hospital where he has since been released.
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“Thanks to the heroic actions of our law enforcement rangers, many lives were saved here last Thursday,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement.
“Rangers immediately confronted the shooter and took decisive action to ensure he is no longer a threat to public safety. We are now working to provide the best possible support to those involved in this incident and their families.”
The FBI is leading the investigation with assistance from special agents of the National Park Service.
