Gunman killed by Yellowstone rangers planned July 4 mass shooting, officials said

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FILE-A Yellowstone National Park sign is shown in Wyoming. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A shooter killed by Yellowstone National Park rangers reportedly planned a mass shooting on the Fourth of July.

Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner told a woman he held at gunpoint shortly after midnight on July 4 inside a dining hall that he was planning a mass shooting at Independence Day events outside Yellowstone National Park, ranger officials said in a statement Tuesday provided to the Associated Press.

Park rangers found the 28-year-old man around 8 a.m. that day outside a dining area with 200 people inside, the Associated Press reported.

Fussner shot multiple bullets using a semiautomatic rifle at a service entrance of the dining area at Yellowstone National Park.

Rangers returned fire striking Fussner, who died at the scene of the shooting in the Canyon Village tourist lodger area near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

One ranger was injured in the shooting and was released from the hospital. Authorities said there were no other injuries in the incident.

A Facebook post on Fussner’s page indicated that he secured a concession job in Yellowstone National Park. The Florida resident also posted a photo of his park badge and himself at Yellowstone in May, but the AP noted that none of his posts suggested a motive for the shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.