Suspect dead after shooting at North Idaho sheriff’s office. Three hospitalized

The suspect involved in the shooting at the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is dead.

KHQ in Spokane, Washington, said Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris confirmed that the shooter was “neutralized” at the scene.

At a press conference Friday evening, authorities said three people were injured, none of them law enforcement. Two bystanders were in a truck outside of the sheriff’s office and sustained gunshot wounds to their legs, leaving them hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Shoshone County Sheriff William Eddy.

A county dispatcher was shot in the ear while stationed in the building’s lobby and also was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Eddy said.

Authorities said the suspect, a man, was still in the lobby when he was fatally shot by police.

People from eight law enforcement agencies responded to reports of an active shooter midafternoon Friday at the building in downtown Wallace, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and other authorities.

The neighboring Mineral County (Montana) Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post while the incident was ongoing that people should avoid the area and that a “life-support” helicopter was in the air.

Police agencies from North Idaho, Washington and Montana all responded to the scene.

Witnesses said they reported hearing at least seven gunshots at around 2:30 p.m.

The owner of Ace Hardware, located across the street from the building in Wallace, said a shooter fired outside his business before entering the county building housing the Shoshone sheriff and courtrooms, among other county services.

This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 5:44 PM.