NYC paramedic shot inside ambulance after man pulls gun on way to hospital: police

A paramedic in New York City was shot inside an ambulance by a man he was transporting to a hospital, but two good Samaritans quickly intervened to apprehend the fleeing suspect. 

EMTs from the Richmond University Medical Center responded at approximately 7:40 p.m. Wednesday to reports of a disorderly person at the Funkey Monkey Lounge on Staten Island. 

Upon their arrival, EMTs observed a 37-year-old man in front of the bar and escorted him to the ambulance. 

While the ambulance traveled Forest Avenue to the Richmond University Medical Center, the patient brandished a gun and fired one round inside the ambulance, striking a 25-year-old EMT in the shoulder, NYPD Inspector Mark Molinari told reporters. 

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The driver pulled over the ambulance near 646 Forest Ave., where the patient exited the ambulance’s back door. The man was quickly apprehended by a retired NYPD detective and an off-duty Department of Sanitation police lieutenant, Molinari said. 

“When I rounded the corner, I did hear the female EMT say, ‘He shot my partner,’ and that’s when I knew something happened,” DSNY Lt. Joseph Perrone told FOX 5 NY. “That’s when I knew I had to react.

“I knew he could get away at any time — that gun could be in play. I decided to move that gun out of play.”

The retired detective and sanitation officer held the man until NYPD officers arrived. 

The driver of the ambulance then transported her injured partner to the Richmond University Medical Center, where he was hospitalized in stable condition. 

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The wounded EMT, identified as Richard McMahon, was released from the hospital Thursday. Video showed him smiling in a wheelchair while fellow first responders greeted him with applause. 

Molinari said the suspected gunman had a previous run-in with the police, an “incident of an emotionally disturbed person.” The inspector said it was not immediately clear if the gun was registered.

Since taking office in January, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has made cracking down on rising violent crime a chief focus of his administration. Last week, a New York City police officer was shot in the arm, and the gunman was killed in a shootout in the Bronx, The Associated Press reported. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.