Armed man fatally shot in gunfire exchange at Yellowstone National Park identified
Police have identified the suspect who was killed in a gunfire exchange at Yellowstone National Park last week, the local sheriff's office confirmed.
The shooting, which left one park ranger injured, occurred overnight Wednesday into the morning of the Fourth of July, the park service said in a news release. The ranger was reported as being in stable condition after the incident, the National Park Service (NPS) said.
Park rangers received a report that a person with a gun, now identified as 28-year-old Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, was making threats in the popular Canyon Village area, which offers lodges, cabins and camping. Rangers made contact, exchanging gunfire with the individual, NPS said.
Fussner, from Milton, Florida, died after an "armed altercation with at least one Park Ranger," the Park County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Monday.
Park County coroner Cody Gortmaker confirmed to USA TODAY that Fussner's cause of death was gunshot wounds. Local outlets have reported that Fussner was a contractor working at Yellowstone through the Xanterra Travel Collection. According to a Facebook profile picture of Fussner's employee ID on his page, his contract was set to expire in September.
Xanterra Travel Collection did not immediately respond to request for confirmation.
Yellowstone shooting:Ranger wounded, suspect dead in rare shooting at Yellowstone National Park, NPS says
The NPS, FBI and local authorities are investigating the incident. The NPS declined to provide further details. The FBI and local police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.