CNN — A manhunt is underway for a dangerous escaped inmate with ties to a White supremacist group and an armed accomplice in Idaho after corrections officers transporting the inmate from a Boise hospital were ambushed with gunfire in a coordinated attack, authorities say.
The attack and escape happened at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center as inmate Skylar Meade was being discharged from the hospital just after 2 a.m. and another person began shooting, Josh Tewalt, director of the Idaho Department of Correction, said at an afternoon news conference.
The shooting was “a brazen attempt to get Meade out of custody,” Boise Police Department Chief Ron Winegar said at the news conference.
Corrections officers were preparing to take Meade back to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution – about 11 miles away – when “an unknown suspect attacked and fired at the officers, striking two of them,” Winegar said.
Meade and the suspected shooter got into a gray four-door sedan, a 2020 Honda Civic with license plate number 2TDF43U, and fled the area just before police officers arrived, according to the chief.
The third corrections officer was wounded by gunfire from a responding police officer, who believed the shooter was inside the emergency department and saw an armed individual near the door, officials said.
One of the officers wounded by the suspect is in critical but stable condition, according to the chief. The other two have non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
The alleged shooter was identified in a police news release Wednesday evening as Nicholas Umphenour. He is accused of aggravated battery against law enforcement and aiding and abetting an escape, according to the release.
Police are asking the public to keep an eye out for the vehicle – and call police or 911 if spotted – but not to engage with the men.
“They are dangerous, they are armed, and they have shown a propensity for violence,” Winegar said.
The hospital locked down for a period of time, but has since resumed operations, police said.
“Saint Alphonsus was not necessarily targeted in this situation. It just happened to be where Mr. Meade was being treated,” Winegar said. “We do not believe there is any danger there at this point for anyone who may need to respond for treatment, or for appointments or anything else on that campus.”
Police: Escaped inmate linked to White supremacist group
Meade was sentenced in October 2016 for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a firearm, has many prior convictions, and is a documented gang member with ties to the Aryan Knights, Winegar said. He was due to be released in 2036.
The Aryan Knights is a White supremacist prison gang based primarily in Idaho, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Meade has the numbers “1” and “11” tattooed on his face, a reference to the group, Winegar noted.
The corrections department made the decision to take Meade to the hospital Tuesday night, after he engaged in “self-injurious behavior” at the corrections facility, Tewalt said at the news conference.
“He was evaluated by our on-site medical and they made the determination that he need to be transported off site for emergent care.”
Meade was at the hospital from 9:50 p.m. to 2:08 a.m., Tewalt said.
In custody, Meade was in administrative segregation, often referred to as solitary confinement, Tewalt said.
“There’s not a higher custody level that we manage,” Tewalt said. “That’s not a classification that is determined by your criminal history. It’s a classification that’s earned by your behavior.”
Two corrections staff members rode with Meade in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and a chase vehicle followed, Tewalt said.
In a high-risk situation like Meade’s hospital visit, Tewalt said, an inmate is typically flanked by two unarmed staff members on each side, with an armed staff member following to keep watch.
He called the incident “unprecedented and unthinkable.”
