Suspect pours accelerant on stolen ambulance in Idaho, flees

Authorities in Idaho were searching Thursday for a suspect they said stole an ambulance outside St. Luke’s hospital, poured accelerant on it, and drove it into a nearby office building that houses U.S. Department of Homeland Security offices, shattering glass doors in the process.

Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said the suspect did not manage to ignite the accelerant before being interrupted by responding agencies. In a statement, he said it appeared the suspect was unable to ignite the accelerant before being scared off.

Police said the incident occurred at about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday in Meridian, a Boise suburb. Basterrechea said the suspect took the ambulance from St. Luke’s hospital and drove it north through a parking lot before retrieving gas cans from nearby vegetation.

Television images shared after the incident showed shattered glass doors at the entrance to an office building. Police said the building is owned by St. Luke’s Health System and is one of several in a business complex called The Portico next to the hospital.

Police said other tenants at Portico North include SelectHealth Inc., St. Luke’s Home Health and Hospice, and Quest Diagnostics. The DHS offices are among the federal spaces in the same complex.

Basterrechea linked the case to a broader dispute over the lease. He said the hospital has faced criticism for leasing space to the Department of Homeland Security while President Donald Trump’s administration carries out immigration enforcement efforts.

“The Portico lease with DHS has been a topic of public debate,” Basterrechea said, adding that there has been “a lot of rhetoric” about the arrangement. He also criticized comments circulating online, saying that “comments on social media such as ‘property damage isn’t violence’ is absolutely false.”

He called the incident “a serious criminal act” and said, “This was absolutely an act of violence.” Basterrechea added that if the suspect had not been interrupted, “there is no doubt this building would have been burned,” putting first responders and others at risk.

Basterrechea said his department was leading the investigation and was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DHS and other agencies as authorities continued to search for the suspect.