Man shot by Yellowstone National Park rangers allegedly threatened mass shooting

A 28-year-old man who worked for a company in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming allegedly threatened to commit a mass shooting before he was killed in a shootout with park rangers on July 4, authorities said Tuesday.

Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, of Milton, Florida, was stopped by Yellowstone rangers early on the morning of July 4 after he allegedly fired a semi-automatic rifle toward a Canyon Village restaurant, according to the NPS. About 200 people were inside the facility at the time, the NPS said in an update on the incident Tuesday.

During an exchange of gunfire, Fussner was shot by rangers and died at the scene, the NPS said. A ranger was also shot in the lower extremity, the NPS said. The injured ranger was taken to an area hospital in stable condition and has since been released, the NPS said. No other injuries were reported.

Fussner was an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private company licensed to operate in Yellowstone, according to NPS. ABC News has reached out to the company for comment.

Law enforcement rangers began searching for the suspect after Yellowstone’s 911 dispatch center received a report just after midnight on July 4 “that a woman had been held against her will by an armed man at a residence in Canyon Village,” the NPS said in a news release.

“She also reported to law enforcement rangers that Fussner had threatened to kill her and others, including his intention to conduct one or more mass shootings during July 4 events outside the park,” the NPS said.

Rangers were “strategically deployed” across the park as part of the search for Fussner, the NPS said. Rangers stationed near Canyon Lodge — which houses the staff and public dining facilities in the center of the park — encountered him around 8 a.m. local time as he “apparently walked toward the service entrance of the facility while firing a semiautomatic rifle,” the NPS said.

The investigation into this incident is being conducted by the FBI and will be reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming, the NPS said. The investigation will include the shooting involving the rangers, who have been placed on paid administrative leave as part of the investigation in accordance with NPS policy.

“Thanks to the heroic actions of our law enforcement rangers, many lives were saved last Thursday,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement. “These rangers immediately confronted the shooter and took decisive action to ensure he no longer posed a threat to public safety. We are working to provide maximum support to those involved and their families.”