Hours before a gunman opened fire at a Yellowstone National Park employee dining hall, injuring a ranger, authorities had received warnings about his plan for a mass shooting. This information was shared as officials released videos and new details about the July 4 incident.
Rangers stationed at Canyon Village shot and killed the gunman, 28-year-old Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner from Milton, Florida, after he fired a semiautomatic rifle.
Authorities had been searching for Fussner for several hours prior to the shooting. A security guard called 911 just after midnight on July 4, reporting that Fussner had held a woman hostage and threatened to attack the dining hall.
Videos from park rangers’ body cameras capture the chaotic moments during and after the shootout in Yellowstone National Park, a popular destination known for its natural beauty and peacefulness. In one video, a ranger is seen firing at the gunman, Fussner, from inside a vehicle access door.
Another video shows a different ranger approaching the injured Fussner, who is lying on the ground with one arm raised. The ranger takes Fussner’s semiautomatic rifle, which was attached to a strap. Officials also noted that Fussner was carrying a semiautomatic pistol.
Body-camera footage reveals a third ranger running toward the scene from nearby employee dormitories, shouting for people to Get back in your dorms! As he runs, a series of gunshots can be heard. He then urges two people crouching behind an SUV to Stay down! The authorities have blurred out the faces of everyone in the videos to protect their identities.
As a ranger approached the corner of a building, two other rangers stood with rifles aimed, and someone shouted, Suspect’s down, he’s not moving! Inside the back entrance where the gunman attacked, photos revealed at least 18 bullet holes in the walls. The first ranger to engage with Fussner was wounded in the lower extremity.
Footage shows other rangers approaching their injured colleague, who was sitting on a concrete stairwell landing. You all right? someone asks. Yeah, I’m good, the ranger replies, giving a thumbs-up.
Medical personnel attempted to assist Fussner, but a doctor later pronounced him dead. Apart from Fussner, the injured ranger was the only person harmed that day in an area crowded with around 200 park workers and visitors. The ranger received hospital treatment and was released within a few days.
Park officials have not disclosed the identities of the rangers involved in the incident, including the five who were present at the shooting scene. Of those five, four activated their body-worn cameras during and shortly after the gunfire.
National Park Service policy requires rangers to activate their body cameras whenever they make contact with someone, except in emergency situations that demand immediate action to preserve life or safety.
This guideline was highlighted in a narrative accompanying the edited body camera footage, a recording of the initial 911 call, and various scene diagrams and photos released on Thursday.
The shooting prompted authorities to close off Canyon Lodge—a complex of hotel rooms, cabins, and dining facilities—for several days. This area is operated by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, where Fussner had been employed for the summer season.
Rangers had been searching for Fussner for hours before the shooting. Late on July 3, he had held another worker at gunpoint and with a knife in her Canyon Village residence. On the morning of July 4, the woman reported that Fussner threatened to kill her and others, including a potential mass shooting at Independence Day events outside the park.
According to park officials, Fussner indicated to the woman that he planned to carry out mass shootings at both the employee dining room and July 4 events outside the park. Officials have not clarified whether Fussner released the woman or if she managed to escape. Yellowstone officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about why this information was not disclosed earlier.
The incident is still under investigation by the FBI, and authorities have not yet cleared the rangers of any wrongdoing in the confrontation. Not all materials related to the incident have been made public.
Typically, jobs at Yellowstone, like those with Xanterra Parks and Resorts, are filled by younger individuals, often college students visiting from other countries. Fussner had posted a photo of his Xanterra badge along with pictures of himself in snowy Yellowstone scenes from mid-May, but these posts showed no signs of anger or any particular motivation.
While Yellowstone often makes headlines for dangerous wildlife encounters and incidents involving its famous hot springs, shootings are quite rare, even with the park’s millions of visitors and the high rate of gun ownership in the surrounding area.
