Prison gang member and his accomplice are taken into custody after hours-long manhunt over ambush at Idaho hospital with cops fearing they killed two people while on the run

Two white supremacists have been recaptured and are being investigated for two murders carried out within hours of them escaping custody on Wednesday morning.

Three correction officers were shot when a gunman burst into St Alphonse hospital in Boise, Idaho, this morning and freed prisoner Skylar Meade, 31, who was being treated under guard.

The pair fled but Meade was arrested alongside Nicholas Umphenour after a car chase at 2pm on Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Boise Police Department said it is now investigating two separate homicides, one in Nez Perce County and another in Clearwater County potentially connected to the pair, who are both members of the Aryan Knights.

Officers said pair had ditched their get away vehicle and were driving a vehicle that belonged to one of the homicide victims, and that handcuffs worn by Meade when he escaped were found at the scene of one of the killings.

The gunman opened fire on prisoner officers who had taken Skylar Meade, seen here, to St Alphonse hospital in Boise, Idaho, for treatment early on Wednesday morning

 Nicholas Umphenour was arrested alongside Meade and charged with assisting his escape

Meade 'engaged in self-injurious behavior' on Tuesday night, and prison medical staff determined he needed to be taken to hospital for treatment, Idaho State Police said

'What we know, with near certainty, this was not an accident,' said Josh Tewalt of the Corrections Department. 

'This was a planned event. And we’re channeling every resource we have into trying to understand exactly how they went about planning it.'

As prison staff were preparing to return Meade to jail early Wednesday morning, a suspect began shooting at officers, striking two of them.

Boise police responded to the incident and one officer fired at an armed person near the entrance, who was later determined to be a corrections officer. 

One officer is in a critical but stable condition, another has serious but non-life-threatening injuries and the third was not seriously injured when mistakenly shot by an arriving Boise police officer, a spokesperson said.

According to Boise police, a preliminary investigation indicates that Meade made his escape in a grey four-door sedan and fled the area just before officers arrived. 

Idaho State Police said that vehicle, a 2020 Honda Civic, was later found near Leland, Idaho, south of Kendrick.

Meade has been serving time in prison for aggravated battery on a Twin Falls officer and was convicted in 2016 and was set to be released in 2036, according to KMVT.

He 'engaged in self-injurious behavior' on Tuesday night, and prison medical staff determined he needed to be taken to hospital for treatment, Idaho State Police said.

He has has prior convictions including felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility. 

He has been incarcerated since October 2016 and his most recent sentence was set to end October 2036. 

Umphenour was imprisoned from December 2020 to January 2024 at the same Idaho Max Security institution in which Meade was serving his sentence, at times sharing the same housing unit, Tewalt said. 

Chief Ron Winegar said in a statement: '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. 

Officers from Boise Police Department told a press conference this afternoon they fear the white supremacists may have committed two murders in their hours on the run 

A Saint Alphonsus spokesperson said the shooting happened in the ambulance bay by its emergency department

A police vehicle is parked outside Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024

This photo provided by Idaho Department of Corrections shows Skylar Mead in a prison mugshot

The 2020 Honda Civic, in which the pair escaped was later found near Leland, Idaho, south of Kendrick

'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.

'They are armed, dangerous, and have shown they are willing to use extreme violence in furtherance of their criminal activity.' 

A Saint Alphonsus spokesperson said the shooting happened in the ambulance bay by its emergency department.

'All patients and staff are safe, the medical center campus is safe and secure, and has resumed normal operations. 

'The Emergency Department itself is currently under temporary lockdown while the Boise Police Department completes the investigation,' Leticia Ramirez said.

She said as an added precaution 'we have increased security on campus, all entrances to the hospital will be closed' and monitored by hospital security until further notice.