POCATELLO — Soon after Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei learned two of his officers had been critically wounded in a shootout last week with a local man armed with an AR-15, he took to his hands and knees and prayed.

“Absolutely I did,” Schei said about praying for his wounded officers. “I am a man of faith and that is one of the things that I did. I was in my office on my knees praying for their safety and I ask everyone to join me in keeping these guys in their thoughts and prayers.”

Pocatello spokesperson Marlise Irby issued a press release Saturday that said one of the two wounded officers had been released from the hospital. Schei on Monday said that the officer is at home recovering with loved ones.

The other critically wounded officer remains in stable condition at Portneuf Medical Center and Schei does not have a timeline regarding his expected release.

Both officers, when ready and able, are expected to rejoin the force and continue working as Pocatello police officers, Schei said.

“The Pocatello Police Department and the City of Pocatello want to thank the public for their continued support,” Irby said in the release on Saturday.

The Pocatello man accused of shooting the two officers, Todd Vernon Brewer, 45, remains in stable condition at PMC as well, hospital staff told the Idaho State Journal on Monday. Brewer is expected to be transported to and incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello upon his release from the hospital.

Brewer has not yet been criminally charged in connection to the shooting, which began to unfold at a home at 941 E. Bridger St. around 1:40 a.m. on Thursday. Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said during a press conference last week that he intends to file two counts of felony aggravated battery upon certain personnel and two felony enhancements for using a weapon during the commission of a felony crime against Brewer.

If convicted of all charges and the sentences are ordered to be served consecutively, one after another as opposed to all at once, Brewer could spend the next eight decades in prison.

Schei said last week that one officer was shot three times during the incident, Brewer was shot twice and the other wounded officer was struck once. The extent of the injuries to Brewer and the officers, the officers’ names, how many shots were fired during the incident and what motivated Brewer to allegedly shoot at police have not yet been disclosed.

In addition to an AR-15, Pocatello police said Brewer was armed with a shotgun during the incident.

Two other people were inside the home at 941 E. Bridger at the time of the shooting and are currently cooperating with the police investigation, Schei said during a press conference last week.

Rather than wait for a Pocatello Fire Department ambulance, other officers at the scene of the shootout made the decision to immediately transport the two seriously wounded officers via police patrol vehicles to PMC and the move might have saved the officers’ lives. Brewer was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to the hospital.

Brewer is a former Utah resident and has a minimal criminal record, including charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession and simple assault in Utah.

Schei said the Pocatello Police Department will host a press conference later this week to identify the two officers that were injured and provide some information about their tenure with the department. Schei also said photos of the two wounded officers taken shortly after they joined the force will also be distributed during the press conference.

The officers involved in the incident were wearing body cameras that were active, Schei said last week, adding that police investigators are working to determine whether or not Brewer was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol when the shooting occurred.

The East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the officers’ use of force during the incident and the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office will serve as the lead investigating agency for the task force. The task force is in the process of interviewing officers and other individuals involved in the shooting incident, reviewing body-worn police cameras and in-car dash cameras and obtaining any additional information that will help in determining whether or not the officers who discharged their firearms during the incident were justified in doing so, said Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu.

This is the second time in the last two decades in which a Pocatello police officer was shot, Schei said. The previous incident occurred on a day in 2006 in which Schei was working as a detective with the Police Department.

The suspect was a convicted rapist facing seven years in prison when he was fatally shot by the Pocatello police, who were trying to arrest him on warrants during that incident.

The shootout left two probation officers and one police officer wounded. Nicholas McKenna, 21, who was No. 7 on Bannock County’s 10 most wanted list, was killed in the gun battle.

In the aftermath of last week’s shooting, numerous agencies and individuals have expressed sympathy and support for the wounded officers and the entire Pocatello Police Department.

“Chief Shane Turman and the Rexburg Police Department send our prayers and support to the Pocatello Police Department and families of their two wounded officers and pray for their recovery,” the Rexburg Police Department posted to Facebook on Friday.

Pocatello City Councilmember Linda Leeuwrik said on Thursday, “Our Pocatello Police officers and their families are in my thoughts and in my heart. I pray for a full and speedy recovery. Please heal and be well. It’s difficult to find the words to truly express the gratitude I feel for our officers, who risk their lives everyday to serve and protect us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. This should never happen. I am heartbroken."