BOISE, Idaho — Authorities Thursday evening confirmed that an inmate who escaped from custody early Wednesday and his accomplice, who shot two officers while helping to break the inmate free at a hospital in Idaho are in custody.

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Men may be involved in 2 homicides while on the run

Update 6:39 p.m. EDT March 21: Investigators are looking into two murders in both Clearwater County and Nez Perce County, according to The Associated Press. The two people who were killed were only identified as men.

Police at the scene of one of the homicides found shackles. Idaho State Police Lt. Colonel Sheldon Kelley said that the shackles were “one of the ways we tied them together,” the AP reported.

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Inmate, accomplice in custody, police say

Update 5:03 p.m. EDT March 21: In a news conference Thursday afternoon, the Boise Police Department confirmed that both Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour are in custody, according to The Associated Press.

Police say Meade and Umphenour may have killed two people while on the loose, the AP reported.

Both men were arrested around 2 p.m. Thursday in Twin Falls, police say.

-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Original story: Boise police confirmed Thursday that the search for Skylar Meade, who has been serving time at a maximum security prison in Idaho since 2016, and Nicholas Umphenour continued Thursday, one day after the early morning breakout, USA Today reported.

At a news conference Wednesday, Police Chief Ron Winegar shared details of the “brazen” attack, framing it as a “coordinated attack, an ambush on the Department of Corrections officers and certainly a planned endeavor to free (Meade) from custody.”

It began on Tuesday night when Meade “engaged in what I would describe as self-injurious behavior” at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, said Josh Tewalt, director of the Idaho Department of Corrections. Prison medical staff determined he needed to be transported to a hospital for further treatment and he was taken to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise.

As Meade and corrections officers were preparing to leave the hospital around 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday, they were attacked by a gunman later identified as Umphenour. Two officers were shot, one who was last listed in critical but stable condition, and another who had injuries described as “serious but non-life-threatening.”

A third IDOC employee was injured by a Boise police officer who responded to early reports of an active shooter at the hospital, police said. The wounded employee had injuries deemed to be non-life threatening.

Officials said Meade and Umphenour got away in a grey 2020 Honda Civic before Boise police officers arrived at the hospital. Police confirmed Umphenour was “an associate of Skylar Meade” but did not elaborate on how the two know one another.

Meade is a member of the prison gang the Aryan Knights, Winegar said. He has several distinctive tattoos, including a number one on one side of his face and an 11 on the other side — numbers which are meant to represent “A.K.” or the Aryan Knights, the police chief said. He is 5-foot-6 and about 150 pounds.

Police said Umphenour is 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. He is wanted on two charges of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one count of aiding and abetting an escape.

Officials urged people not to approach Meade or Umphenour if they’re spotted.

“They are dangerous, they are armed and they have shown a propensity for violence,” Winegar said. “We want to make sure that any member of the public who happens to come into contact is aware of that and that you do not try to intervene or contact them, but simply call 911 and provide us with as much information as you can.”

Meade had been imprisoned since 2016 for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement. His prison term was set to end in October 2036. Most recently, he was housed in administrative segregation, the highest custody level in the IDOC, Tewalt said.

“That’s not a classification that is determined by your criminal history. It’s a classification that’s earned by your behavior while in custody,” he added Wednesday.

“It’s a form of restrictive housing that really is reserved for those people in our custody who have proven that they can’t be housed without being a danger to themselves, staff or other people in our custody.”

Wednesday morning’s shooting happened near the emergency department at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center as people were getting care. Winegar noted after the shooting that the attack wasn’t meant to target the hospital. Instead, he said, it happened at the hospital because “it just happened to be where Mr. Meade was being treated.”

“This incident was obviously very traumatic for those who were at Saint Alphonsus Hospital, both their staff (and) people who were being treated for medical issues at that time,” he said.

Authorities continue to investigate how the attack was planned and who was involved. Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.

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