The July 4th Yellowstone Shootout Was Almost a Tragedy

The National Park Service (NPS) has released details about the deadly July 4th shootout at Yellowstone National Park. The gunman died after swapping bullets with law-enforcement rangers in the park in the morning hours of the federal holiday. But we now know that it could have been so much worse.

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The gunman, which NPS identified as 28-year-old Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner of Milton, Florida, had planned to attempt a mass shooting. Just after midnight on July 4, Fussner held a woman against her will in the Canyon Village complex. She told law-enforcement rangers that Fussner “threatened to kill her and others” and that he planned to “carry out a mass shooting(s) at July 4th events outside the park,” NPS says in its press release.

After receiving the woman’s report, law-enforcement rangers sprung into action to find Fussner, who was likely armed and dangerous. They found his unoccupied vehicle, and, eventually, at about 8 AM, they found Fussner himself back near Canyon Lodge, which NPS says houses employee and public dining rooms.

NPS says Fussner “walked toward the service entrance of the facility while firing a semi-automatic rifle. The building was occupied by approximately 200 people at the time.”

Several law-enforcement rangers engaged Fussner and ultimately shot him. One ranger also received a bullet wound to a lower extremity, but the wound was not life threatening.

NPS says Fussner was an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a “private business authorized to operate in Yellowstone.”

What Now?

The public will likely continue to get more information as the investigation continues, including body-cam footage of the incident. NPS says: “Consistent with Department of the Interior and NPS policies, the NPS will release available body worn camera footage of the incident within 30 days.”

Superintendent Cam Sholly says the law-enforcement rangers’ decisive actions likely saved many lives last Thursday.

One Dead, One Injured After Shootout at Yellowstone National Park