The firefighters were called out to the fire on the shores of Lake Ontario at around 5.35 a.m. and the unidentified shooter immediately opened fire and initial reports claimed he was using an assault rifle - before a police SWAT team arrived and soon after the gunman died from a gunshot would. It is unclear if the wound was self-inflicted.
The unidentified man opened fire as soon as the firefighters arrived, killing police lieutenant Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka, a 911 dispatcher, who had both volunteered with the West Webster fire department. In addition, two full time fire men, Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino were shot and injured by the gunman and are currently in nearby Strong hospital along with John Ritter, an off duty police officer who was hit by shrapnel from the volley of bullets.
All three men are in a guarded condition according to West Webster fire Chief Gerald Pickering, who confirmed that there was only one gunman and that it appears the fire was started as a trap.'It does appear it was a trap set for first responders,' said a visibly emotional Pickering at a press conference this morning. 'These people wake up in the middle of the night to fight fires , they don't expect to get shot.'
After the firefighters were shot police SWAT teams were called to the scene and they engaged managed to recover the dead and injured firefighters who had been shot.They then engaged in a pursuit of the unidentified suspect which ended in the shooter losing his life near to the home which he had set ablaze.