‘A lot of gunshots’: Suspect hospitalized after police chase, shootings in Boise, Meridian
Seven Idaho law enforcement officers were involved in shootings with the same man about 10 miles apart Thursday afternoon.
After a shooting that involved Idaho Department of Correction parole officers near State Street in Northwest Boise, an injured man fled the scene, was pursued by police and exchanged gunfire with officers in downtown Meridian, according to authorities.
The suspect was not identified, but police said he was a white male who was taken to a local hospital after officers shot him.
Shooting details
The Meridian Police Department first reported an officer-involved incident on social media just before 2 p.m.
Just before 1:30 p.m., the Boise Police Department was informed of a shooting involving IDOC officers on West Shields Avenue, said Boise Deputy Chief Tammany Brooks at a Thursday afternoon news conference. Police also learned that the suspect had fled in a stolen vehicle and that there had been a carjacking in Eagle, Brooks said.
The Department of Correction reported that two probation/parole officers were involved and that an “injured man” fled the scene, according to a tweet. IDOC said the shooting happened in Garden City but gave the address as West Shields Avenue, which is in Boise north of State Street.
Boise police fanned out to locate the stolen vehicle and the suspect, and eventually found the man on Eagle Road, where a pursuit began, said Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea. That chase wound up heading south on Meridian Road, Basterrechea said, and the suspect turned west on Broadway Avenue, where a Boise officer used their patrol car to perform a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver — a tactic used to debilitate a vehicle.
Three Boise police officers and two Meridian police officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, Basterrechea said. The suspect was struck and officers performed life-saving measures, he said. The man was taken to a hospital and was “undergoing medical treatment,” but his condition was not known, according to Basterrechea.
No Meridian or Boise officers were injured, Basterrechea said.
Spokesperson Jeff Ray declined to say whether the IDOC officers were injured.
Witnesses hear gunshots
Dan Romero, a construction foreman working at a nearby site, told the Idaho Statesman that he saw the white pickup truck traveling on Meridian Road turn south onto Broadway, with several police cars in pursuit, just before 2 p.m.
Shortly after that, witnesses said they heard gunfire.
“It was a lot of gunshots and it went off quick,” said Alfonso Blanco, another construction worker.
A white truck at the scene appeared to have bullet holes in the windshield. Both Meridian and Boise police vehicles were at the scene as officers blocked off streets.
The shooting will be investigated by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force, with the Garden City Police Department leading the investigation, Basterrechea said.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 3:41 PM.
