The Park County, Wyoming, coroner identified the shooter as Samson Lucas Barrier Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida, an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private company that operates lodges in Yellowstone.
“Many lives were saved here last Thursday,” park manager Cam Sholly said in a statement. “We are now working to provide the best possible support to those involved and their families.”
The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, including the actions of National Park Service law enforcement officers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming will review the investigation at a later date.
“The incident remains under investigation and we have no additional information to provide at this time,” Yellowstone Representative Linda Velez said.
An unidentified woman called Yellowstone’s 911 dispatch center just after midnight on July 4. She told police she was being held against her will by a man with a gun in a residence in Canyon Village, according to a news release.
According to the release, a police patrol found his vehicle unoccupied in the Canyon area. Patrol officers believed Fussner was possibly armed and dangerous and deployed officers, including the park’s special response team, throughout the park to monitor areas where park visitors and employees were present and to search for Fussner. The park’s 911 center also notified surrounding areas of the threat.
Rangers encountered Fussner near the Canyon Lodge, which houses both employee and public dining areas, around 8 a.m. He was walking toward the facility’s service entrance firing a semiautomatic rifle, according to a news release. About 200 people were inside the building.
Hussner was shot and killed during a shootout by police rangers, one of whom was shot in the lower leg and recently released from an area hospital, the release said. No other physical injuries were reported.
Law enforcement officers involved in the shooting call are required to be placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated, per National Park Service policy.
Shootings in national parks are not common. However, on May 29, a 19-year-old man was shot and seriously injured on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, according to the National Park Service website. The National Park Service database breaks down the number of fatalities and types of deaths that occur in the parks. The Mortality Dashboard, which looks at deaths from 2014 to 2019, counts just two “legal intervention” deaths and 25 homicides in that time period.
According to the National Park Service, gun laws in national parks follow the laws of the state the park is located in. Everytown Research & Policy ranks Wyoming as having some of the least restrictive gun laws in the nation. The state does not ban assault weapons.
Federal law prohibits the possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons on National Park Service property. These buildings include government offices, visitor centers, ranger stations, fee collection facilities, and maintenance facilities.
