JUST IN: Anti-ICE Agitator Steals Ambulance From Hospital, Packs It with Gas Cans, Rams Into DHS Office Building in Idaho

by Cristina Laila Feb. 19, 2026 6:40 pm



Tracy Basterrechea, Meridian, Idaho, police chiefAn anti-ICE agitator stole an ambulance, packed it with gas cans and rammed the emergency vehicle into a DHS office in Meridian, Idaho.

Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said the suspect stole the ambulance from St. Luke’s Hospital and poured accelerant inside of the vehicle.

“We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act,” Police Chief Basterrechea said.

“The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created a risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community,” he said.

The police chief said “there has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location.”

“Comments on social media, such as ‘property damage isn’t violence,’ is absolutely false,” he 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,” he added.

The unidentified suspect is still at large.

WATCH:

https://twitter.com/i/status/2024623982096318793

Fox News reported:

State and federal authorities are investigating after a suspect allegedly stole an ambulance, loaded up staged gas cans and plowed the emergency vehicle into a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in Idaho — in what investigators believe was an attempted arson attack.

Just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, an ambulance was stolen from a bay at St. Luke’s West hospital.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified, drove the ambulance through the parking lot and retrieved gas cans that were staged in nearby vegetation, according to Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea.

The suspect then drove the ambulance directly into the North Portico building, which houses DHS offices, Basterrechea said.

Investigators believe the suspect poured an accelerant inside and around the outside of the ambulance.

However, the suspect was unable to ignite the accelerant before being scared off by responding agencies, according to Basterrechea.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/202...ance-packs-it/