Police: Suspect planned to light fire at Meridian building tied to ICE
Published at | Updated at
David Staats, Idaho Statesman
Editor’s note: This story was originally posted at 9:16 a.m. Thursday and has been updated.
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Law enforcement members are still searching for a suspect who drove a stolen ambulance into a Meridian building where some office space is leased by the Department of Homeland Security. Police said they believe the suspect planned to light the building on fire.
Law enforcement and fire crews responded to a 911 call at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, saying a Canyon County ambulance had been stolen from the ambulance bay at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said in an in-person statement Thursday.
Basterrechea said preliminary evidence indicated that the suspect drove the ambulance north through the parking lot and retrieved gas cans hidden in nearby vegetation. The suspect then drove directly into the Portico North building, which houses some Department of Homeland Security offices, according to the chief.
Investigators believe the suspect poured an accelerant inside the building and around the outside of the ambulance, but was unable to ignite the accelerant “before being scared off by responding agencies,” Basterrechea said.
“This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk,” Basterrechea said.
The six-story office building, located at the southeast corner of Eagle and Franklin roads, is owned by St. Luke’s Health System, whose Meridian hospital is one block south.
“We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act,” Basterrechea said. “The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community.”
Police say no individuals were found inside the ambulance or the building. Authorities also searched the building overnight and found no suspect, Patrol Lt. Brandon Frasier said in an email. There were no reported injuries to people, he said.
WATCH: Meridian police hold press conference to discuss stolen ambulance and crash at Portico North building
Basterrechea stressed that there were still “a lot of unknowns” about the situation. He asked anyone with information to contact his department by calling 208-888-6678 or emailing crimetips@meridiancity.org.
He would not take any questions. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Idaho Statesman’s request for comment.
The Meridian Police Department is leading the investigation with assistance from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security, Idaho State Police and other regional law enforcement agencies, according to Basterrechea.
Homeland Security includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The U.S. General Services Administration, which leases office space for federal agencies, told the Idaho Statesman on Feb. 11 that it is leasing space for ICE to meet the agency’s workspace needs, in response to an inquiry about the Portico North lease.
The building is not used for clinical care, St. Luke’s told the Statesman.
The lease was agreed to last fall, St. Luke’s told the Statesman, but the deal wasn’t publicly known until last week.
It’s unknown when the U.S. government planned to start using the building, or whether it already had. Police began reopening adjoining roads to traffic before 6 a.m. in anticipation of the morning commute.
