Three correctional officers were ambushed and shot as they were transporting inmates back to the prison from a medical center in Boise, Idaho, early Wednesday morning, officials said. The inmate and the gunman were believed to have escaped together, and an investigation has begun.
The city of Boise announced in a news release that Idaho Department of Corrections officials transported inmate Skyler Meade to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center Tuesday night. At 2:15 a.m. local time, as the suspect and Meade were preparing to leave, an unknown suspect attacked the officers and opened fire, hitting two of them.
A third person, later identified as a corrections officer, was shot and killed by a responding Boise police officer.
Boise Police detectives identified the suspect in the shooting as Nicholas Amphenol Wednesday afternoon.
(1/3) An investigation into an officer-involved shooting is underway following a shooting in St. Alphonsus early this morning. Police officers secured the scene. Boise police are searching for two possible suspects in a gray four-door sedan, possibly a Honda Civic with ID plates. pic.twitter.com/Km3mdKw7XP
— Boise PD (@BoisePD) March 20, 2024
“Preliminary investigation indicates that Meade and the shooter suspect fled the area in a gray four-door sedan shortly before Boise Police arrived,” the news release said.
Officials said one police officer shot by Amphenol was in critical but stable condition, and a second police officer shot by Amphenol had serious but non-life-threatening injuries. . A third officer injured in police gunfire had non-life-threatening injuries.
State Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewalt said at a news conference Wednesday that Meade had been “self-harming” on Tuesday night and that officers later determined he needed to be removed for care off-site. He said he did.
Boise Police Department
“We believe this was a coordinated attack or ambush to get him out of custody,” Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said, adding that he had dozens of leads.
The hospital was placed on lockdown while police searched for the suspect. Winegar said a search is underway across the Treasure Valley to search for Umphenol and Meade, 31, who is a documented member of the white supremacist group Aryan Knights and has numerous criminal records. A search is said to be underway.
Meade had been incarcerated since October 2016 on a charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement. His most recent sentence was scheduled to end in 2036, according to a news release.
Boise Police Department
Officials said Meade has a series of distinctive tattoos on his face and body, is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds.
Detectives said Infenneur was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed about 160 pounds, and had brown hair and hazel eyes. Officers obtained a warrant for Mr. Umphenol's arrest. The warrant has a $2 million bond.
The vehicle in which the suspects fled appears to be a gray 2020 Honda Civic with license plate 2TDF43U. Both men are considered armed and dangerous, and residents are advised not to approach them and to call 911 or Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.
