Boise Police announced Thursday that the two suspects who were involved in an overnight shooting at Saint Alphonsus in Boise are now in custody.
In a press conference, Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour were found in Twin Falls just after 2 p.m. They were taken into custody separately.
Winegar said there was a short car chase, but no shots were fired or "excessive force" was used.
During the conference Idaho State Police Lt. Colonel Sheldon Kelley said they are investigating two other homicides in Nez Perce and Clearwater counties that are potentially tied to this incident. No further information is available on those homicides right now, but the county coroners will provide more details on the identity of the victims and their cause of death.
Winegar said both Meade and Umphenour were in the Idaho Maximum Security Institution at the same time and were held in the same housing unit. Umphenour was released from custody on Jan. 17, 2024.
Meade was taken to Saint Alphonsus because of a self-inflicted injury Wednesday morning. As Meade and the Idaho Department of Correction officers were preparing to leave the emergency room and go back to the prison, Umphenour ambushed the officers, shooting two of them. An IDOC employee fired his duty weapon at Umphenour.
A third IDOC officer was shot by a Boise Police Officer after the suspects left the scene.
Winegar said one officer has been released from the hospital and the other two are in “stable” condition.
Meade was serving time for aggravated battery on a law enforcement official with a firearm enhancement. Umphenour was charged on Wednesday with two counts of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape.
The Idaho State Police has issued a Blue Alert Wednesday morning. A Blue Alert is issued when a suspect poses an "imminent and credible threat to law enforcement, or when an officer is missing in the line of duty," according to the United States Department of Justice.
ORIGINAL POST: Police are still looking for escaped inmate Skylar Meade and another man, identified by Boise Police detectives as Nicholas Umphenour after an overnight shooting of Idaho Department of Correction officers.
Umphenour, whose identity was discovered just after 5 p.m., now has a warrant out for his arrest. He is charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape.
An updated release from Boise Police say the investigation led them to identify Umphenour as a suspect and confirmed that he is an associate of Skylar Meade.
Meade, who has been serving time for aggravated battery on a law enforcement official with a firearm enhancement, was being taken to Saint Alphonsus in Boise at 2:15 a.m. for medical treatment, according to a news release.
Police say as they were getting ready to take Meade back to IDOC, Umphenour "attacked and fired at the officers." An IDOC employee fired his duty weapon at the armed suspect.
Three IDOC officers were hurt in the incident. The news release says one officer was shot by the suspect and is in critical but stable condition. The second shot by the suspect has serious but non-life-threatening injuries and the third was hurt during gunfire from a responding Boise Police officer and has non-life-threatening injuries.
“This brazen, violent, and apparently coordinated attack on Idaho Department of Corrections personnel, to facilitate an escape of a dangerous inmate, was carried out right in front of the Emergency Department, where people come for medical help, often in the direst circumstances. When BPD officers responded, they believed the shooter was inside the Emergency Department. They immediately entered to address any potential continued threat to Emergency Room staff. I am grateful this harrowing incident did not result in loss of life, and we are monitoring the wounded IDOC officers with great hope for a full and speedy recovery of all involved. We caution anyone who may have contact with the suspects involved in this violent attack and escape to call 911 immediately and not confront them personally. They are armed, dangerous, and have shown they are willing to use extreme violence in furtherance of their criminal activity.”Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar
A preliminary investigation shows Meade and Umpenhour getting into a gray 2020 Honda Civic with the license plate 2TDF43U and leaving the area before Boise Police officers arrived.
A manhunt is underway for Meade and Umphenour. Police say they do not know where they are or where they are headed.
They are considered armed and dangerous, to both the police and the the public. If you see them, do not approach and call 911.
The emergency department at Saint Alphonsus was temporarily locked down but has since reopened. An emailed statement said the hospital has increased security and all entrances to the hospital will be monitored until further notice.
The Idaho State Police has issued a Blue Alert Wednesday morning. A Blue Alert is issued when a suspect poses an "imminent and credible threat to law enforcement, or when an officer is missing in the line of duty," according to the United States Department of Justice.
