Man rams stolen ambulance into DHS office building, douses it in accelerant, police say

Idaho police are trying to identify and locate a man who allegedly stole an ambulance and rammed it into a building housing a Department of Homeland Security office before failing to light it all on fire.

The incident began at St. Luke's Hospital, where the suspect stole an ambulance, then crashed it into the lobby of the building on Wednesday at about 11 p.m. in Meridian, according to Meridian police. Meridian is a suburb of Boise.

'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.'

After he crashed the ambulance, the suspect retrieved cans with some sort of accelerant that were hidden in bushes and doused the vehicle with the substance, according to police.

"It appears the suspect was unable to ignite the accelerant before being scared off by responding agencies," said Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea in a statement.

Police said the suspect was wearing a medical mask as well as a black shirt and tan pants.

Basterrechea noted that there had been chatter online criticizing the presence of DHS at the building and called the incident a "serious criminal act."

He also addressed "absolutely false" comments on social media denying that property damage is violence.

"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," he added.

Because the suspect had apparently planted the accelerant before stealing the ambulance and had driven about a quarter of a mile to the building with the DHS office, police believe the attack was intentional.

Canyon County Paramedics issued a statement about the incident.

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"No Canyon County Paramedics personnel were inside the ambulance at the time of the incident," read the statement. "There are currently no confirmed injuries to members of the public or first responders connected to this event."

Basterrechea said his department was leading the investigation, but they were cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as DHS and other agencies.

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