Law enforcement in Idaho is searching for an escaped white supremacist gang member and an accomplice after, what police say, was a deliberately staged attack to break the inmate out of prison.
Early Wednesday morning, police in Boise, Idaho took prisoner Skylar Meade, 31, to Saint Alphonsus Hospital for medical treatment. As officials were transporting him, they were ambushed by a gunman who shot two correctional officers escorting Meade.
A third correctional officer was wounded by responding police who allegedly misidentified him as the shooter. Two officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries while another was in stable condition.
Meade then escaped with the accomplice, identified as Nicholas Umphenour, in a gray 2020 Honda Civic.
A $2 million bond has been issued for Umphenour’s arrest on charges of aggravated battery against law enforcement and aiding and abetting an escape.
Police are asking anyone with information to come forward but warned the public that both men are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
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Three correctional officers injured
Three Idaho Department of Corrections officers were shot as an inmate escaped from a hospital in Boise. Now, officials are looking for two suspects: The inmate and the man who attacked and fired at the officers.
Police say that the incident started at 2.15am on Wednesday when officials transported inmate Skylar Meade to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for medical treatment.
As the officers were preparing to transport the inmate back to a correctional facility, an unknown suspect attacked and fired at the officers, hitting two of them, according to officials.
Additional officers responded to the hospital amid news of a shooting and the facility went into lockdown as police searched for suspects. One officer fired his gun at an armed individual near the entrance of the facility. Officials later determined that the person was a correctional officer.
Michelle Del Rey21 March 2024 16:00
Three prison officers shot as inmate dramatically broken out of Idaho hospital by gunman
Three Idaho Department of Corrections officers were shot as an inmate escaped from a hospital in Boise. Now, officials are looking for two suspects: The inmate and the man who attacked and fired at the officers.
Police say that the incident started at 2.15am on Wednesday when officials transported inmate Skylar Meade to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for medical treatment.
Michelle Del Rey reports:
Ariana Baio21 March 2024 15:00
Who is Nicholas Umphenour?
Police are searching for Nicholas Umphenour, a man accused of helping prison inmate Skylar Meade escape, by staging a “violent” and “brazen” attack.
Umphenour is described as 5’11” and 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes.
Police allege that Umphenour is an associate of Meade and helped him escape from police custody by firing at two correctional officers as they were transporting Meade to the hospital on Wednesday morning. He also drove Meade away in a Grey 2020 Honda Civic.
A warrant and $2 million bond have been issued for Umphenour’s arrest. The arrest is for two counts of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape.
Nicholas Umphenour, suspected by Boise Police detectives for assisting in the escape of Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) maximum-security prison
(Boise Police Department via REUTERS)
Ariana Baio21 March 2024 14:00
Who is Skylar Meade?
Police in Idaho are searching for 31-year-old Skylar Meade, an inmate at the Idaho Department of Corrections, who escaped from custody on Wednesday morning in what law enforcement say was a “brazen” and “violent” stagged attack.
Meade is 5’6” and 150 pounds. He has face tattoos with the number one and 11 – to represent the first and 11th letters of the alphabet, A and K, – which stands for Aryan Knights, the gang he is affiliated with. He also has an “A” and “K” tattoo on his abdomen.
The Aryan Knights are a white supremacist prison gang formed in the Idaho prison system in the 1990s, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Meade was serving time in the IDOC for aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement. He also has prior convictions, including felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility.
He was incarcerated in October 2016.
Image of Skylar Meade released by Boise Police
(Boise Police)
Ariana Baio21 March 2024 13:30
Boise police release photos of escaped inmate and accomplice
This photo provided by Boise Police Dept., shows Skylar Meade
(AP)
This image provided by Boise Police Department shows Nicholas Umphenour
(Boise Police Department)
Ariana Baio21 March 2024 12:41
Catch up with the story: What we know so far
A manhunt is underway in Idaho after a prisoner serving a 20-year sentence for shooting at a sheriff during a high-speed car chase was busted out of a hospital in a night-time raid by an armed accomplice.
Michelle Del Rey reports:
Ariana Baio21 March 2024 12:38
