Boise, Nampa police involved in 4 shootings since June 27. Friday’s was first fatality.
Police in the Treasure Valley have shot four people in as many weeks.
Most recently, Nampa police shot and killed a 51-year-old Idaho woman Friday near the 500 block of Mulberry Loop after they say she fled from police in her vehicle, driving a few blocks away after striking a patrol car. Police say she pointed and fired a weapon at officers, who returned fire and struck the woman.
She later died at a local hospital, according to a news release from the Nampa Police Department.
It’s the second fatal police shooting in the Treasure Valley in 2021, with the other taking place in Garden City on April 13. Garden City police shot and killed Thomas Bunde, 58, after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers and threatened police. Officers were called to a home on reports of a domestic violence incident.
According to Idaho Statesman records, there have been six fatal police shootings in the state in 2021. The four others took place in Eastern Idaho, in Madison, Bingham, Bannock and Bonneville counties.
Since 2000, Idaho police have shot and killed at least four women, according to data collected by the Statesman. Prior to Friday, the most recent of those fatal shootings was of Amber Dewitt on Oct. 20, 2019, in Boise. Dewitt, a Caldwell resident, died from gunshot wounds after she pointed what was later identified as a BB gun at Boise police while in her car. A Blaine County prosecutor ruled in March 2020 that police were justified in their use of force in the incident.
Here are the most recent police shootings in the Treasure Valley.
Last Sunday night, at least one Boise police officer fired their gun at a man who was said to be driving a stolen van after the driver rammed a police car multiple times. After being reported for driving recklessly, the motorist and the van were located in the 10000 block of Riley Court, a residential street in West Boise. Police tried to stop the driver, but he smashed into a police car multiple times before being shot. The driver was taken to a hospital for treatment. Two Boise officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave while an investigation takes place, per standard practice.
On July 8, Nampa police reported that a man was shot after he pointed a rifle at police and threatened to shoot. A Nampa officer tried to pull over a driver near West Roosevelt Avenue and Pine Street before the driver allegedly pointed a gun at police and drove away. Officers followed the man to his Nampa home, where he left the car and ran inside, allegedly threatening police in the process. Police shot the man as he was in an upstairs window. He was taken to a hospital and later booked into the Canyon County jail. Police identified him as Richard Bigby-Garcia. Officials said multiple officers fired their weapons during the incident, and all have been placed on administrative leave.
On June 27, Boise police shot a 33-year-old Boise man named Mohamud Hassan Mkoma after a brief car chase ended near the corner of 36th Street and Eyrie Way. Police were pursuing Mkoma after a 911 call that he had taken a 14-year-old boy. Charging documents allege that Mkoma, a Somali Bantu refugee, was in possession of a knife, and he has been charged with several crimes. Family members have decried the narrative of the shooting from police, and said the 14-year-old boy is Mkoma’s son and had been living with him for two months, a detail the Boise Police Department has not acknowledged. Mkoma’s felony charges include aggravated assault, aggravated battery and three felony counts of lewd conduct with children.
