UPDATE MARCH 22, 2024: Two suspects involved in the coordinated prisoner escape at a hospital in Boise were captured on Thursday, reports KTVB.
Authorities say that on Wednesday, Nicholas Umphenour, 31, ambushed corrections officers in the ambulance bay of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and freed prison inmate Skylar Meade, 31, who was being treated at the hospital for self-inflicted injuries. Three law enforcement officers were shot during the ambush: Two by Umphenour and one by responding officers.
On Thursday, Umphenour and Meade were arrested in Twin Falls County following a short vehicle pursuit. Both men are affiliated with the Aryan Knights, and had previously been in prison together for about four years.
KTVB is reporting that Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt is taking “accountability for potential errors within the facility and prison institutions.”
While both suspects were on the run, authorities believe they killed two people in rural Northern Idaho.
ORIGINAL MARCH 21, 2024 ARTICLE:
BOISE, Idaho – A massive manhunt is underway for an escaped inmate and his accomplice who authorities say ambushed police as they were transporting the inmate from Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Three corrections officers were injured in the attack.
The brazen ambush happened at 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday, and authorities have identified the alleged shooter as Nicholas Umphenour, 31. He is believed to be the person who freed inmate Skylar Meade, 31.
Skylar Meade is described as being 5’06’’ in height and weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair, but his head is shaved and the color of his eyes is hazel. Meade’s facial tattoos include the numbers 1 and 11, which stand for A and K or Aryan Knights.
Police describe Umphenour as being 5’11” in height, weighing 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes, reports KTVB. He is believed to have been driving a gray 2020 Honda Civic with Idaho license plate no. 2TDF43U.
Meade is described as being 5’06’’ in height and weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair, but his head is shaved and the color of his eyes is hazel. Meade’s facial tattoos include the numbers 1 and 11, which stand for A and K or Aryan Knights.
Both Umphenour and Meade are considered armed and dangerous. Meade is a member of a white supremacist gang and was serving a 20 year prison sentence for shooting at a sheriff’s sergeant during a high-speed chase in 2017, reports NPR. He also has a long history of other run-ins with the law.
The Idaho Department of Corrections said Meade was transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for medical treatment after engaging in self-injury behavior on Tuesday evening, reports IdahoNews. As they were preparing to depart the hospital, Umphenour fired at the officers as they were in the ambulance bay, shooting two of them. As the officers fired back, another corrections officer was struck by gunfire.
One of the officers shot by Umphenour is in critical but stable condition, reports the Idaho Press. Another officer has serious injuries, but they are not life-threatening. The third officer was not seriously injured in the attack.
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center was locked down immediately after the ambush. No patients or hospital staff members were injured. Security at the hospital has been increased.
