Paramedic Stabbed In Heart By Patient On The Way To Hospital, Say Cops

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

A Kansas City paramedic is dead after a patient he was trying to help stabbed him in the heart, according to shocking reports from local authorities.

It all started in the Missouri city early Sunday morning when cops and firefighters responded to a call about a woman walking along the side of the highway around 1 a.m. At the scene, responders determined she had a cut on her finger that was bleeding pretty badly, so an ambulance was called for her, per arrest records.

The woman, identified as 39-year-old Shanetta Bossell, initially didn’t want to go to the hospital, but changed her mind later on and got loaded into the ambulance alongside firefighter paramedic Graham Hoffman. While en route to the hospital, she allegedly stabbed Hoffman… right in the heart.

Awful…

The ambulance driver stopped the vehicle and turned on the siren before jumping out of the driver’s seat. He alerted following police cars, “She has a knife!” — which got an officer to call for backup. Arrest records say Bossell jumped into the driver’s seat twice and attempted to start up the ambulance. She then allegedly bit an officer in the arm! Apparently he hit her in the back of the head with his weapon, and she was finally detained. Jeez.

Hoffman was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery… but it was too late. He sadly passed away. Police found the knife nearby where the ambulance had been parked during the attack.

On Facebook, the late firefighter’s department mourned the loss, writing in a post:

“Described as compassionate, caring, loving, and a leader on and off the job by his fellow firefighters and academy classmates. It is with great sorrow and sadness we announce the passing of KCFD Firefighter Paramedic Graham Hoffman.”

They went on to call him a “dedicated professional that loved serving his city”:

“Firefighter Hoffman died from injuries sustained when he was stabbed in the chest by a patient he was transporting to the hospital in the early hours of April 27th. Graham was a dedicated professional who loved serving his city. He will be greatly missed. Funeral details will follow in the coming days. Rest in peace Firefighter Graham Hoffman.”

See the post (below):

Heartbreaking. R.I.P.

Bossell has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, third-degree assault, and resisting arrest. She’s currently being held at the Clay County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. This isn’t her first run-in with the law, either…

Just this month she was arrested and charged with second-degree assault after allegedly biting an off duty officer. According to legal docs, she had been pulling on car door handles outside his home, and he made an attempt to detain her, which resulted in him being bitten. She was released after she posted bond just last Friday.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement after the alleged attack on Hoffman:

“Like many, I share concern that the defendant had within the past week been arrested and charged by prosecutors with felony assault on a law enforcement officer only to, based upon the allegations, return as a serious threat to the public and first responders only days later. I believe in our justice system and will await further information about all that led to this heartbreaking incident and all that could have been done to avoid it.”

Our heart goes out to Graham’s family, loved ones, and the rest of his department. May he get the justice he deserves.

[Image via Clay County Detention Center]