Officers were tipped off to Yellowstone Park shooter’s plans, NPS says

By Amelia Davidson | 09/20/2024 01:36 PM EDT

Body camera footage released by the National Park Service shows the chaotic scene as rangers exchanged fire with a gunman targeting a Yellowstone employee dining hall in July.

A sign marks the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

A sign marks the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service/AP

Law enforcement officers at Yellowstone National Park were alerted to a gunman’s plan to shoot at an employee dining hall hours before the attack on July 4, according to information revealed Thursday by the National Park Service.

NPS rangers shot and killed Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, that morning as he fired a semi-automatic weapon while walking toward Yellowstone’s Canyon Lodge building. No other workers or visitors were hurt, but an officer was shot and injured in the incident.

The details were released by NPS in a video briefing that accompanied footage from officers’ body cameras, which showed the chaotic scene as they responded.

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In the early morning of July 4, a woman reported to law enforcement that Fussner came to her residence with a knife and a handgun, held her against her will, and shared plans to attack the employee dining hall in Canyon Lodge and other July 4 events, according to the NPS video statement.

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