Former roommate of Idaho shooter expresses shock and fear

The man said the Idaho shooter stayed at his apartment for about six months and left in January after he made 'gang signs' at his interior security camera.

The former roommate of Wess Roley, the man identified as the Idaho shooter who killed two firefighters Sunday, told KING 5 he was shocked to learn the 20-year-old was responsible for the ambush.

'I woke up to a phone call Monday from my brother,' TJ Franks said. 'He was like, 'Dude, you're not going to believe this. Your roommate's name was Wess Roley, right?' And I said, 'Yeah.' He sent me the picture of him, I read the news and I was just freaking out really bad.'

Franks said he met Roley through their work in the tree service industry.

'He seemed good, you know?' Franks said. 'We hung out a few times before he actually moved in, and he didn't have much when he first came. He said he was living out of his van and just working at the tree service.'

He estimated Roley stayed at his apartment for about six months and left in January after he made what Franks described as 'gang signs' toward his interior security camera.

'He didn't really feel comfortable with having the cameras in the house and actually, it disturbed him a lot,' Franks said. 'So, I took him down when (my) kids weren't here. And then, one night, I forgot to unplug the camera, and he came in while we weren't home and he threw up some disturbing signs. And so I actually ended up calling the police because I was worried, you know, that he might be wanting to be violent.'

Franks said Roley moved out without further incident.

'I'm just kind of in a little bit of shock about the whole thing,' Franks said. 'My whole family met him, and they've talked to him. It's scary because I don't know, he could have flipped at any time.'

According to Franks, Roley did not have any firearms inside the apartment. He did not recall any specific conversations that may have hinted at plans to kill anyone.

'I mean, that is an absolutely disgusting thing to do,' Franks said. 'My heart goes out to those firefighters' families because I respect law enforcement and firefighters especially. It just hurts my heart. But it also scares the crap out of me because he lived in my home under my roof.'