Patient Aboard an Ambulance Fatally Stabs a Firefighter Paramedic

A member of the emergency medical services in Kansas City, Mo., died on Sunday after being stabbed by a patient who was being transported to a hospital in what officials said started out as a “routine medical call.”

The patient stabbed the emergency worker, Graham Hoffman, a 29-year-old firefighter paramedic, in the chest, piercing his heart, city officials said in a news release.

A suspect was in custody but had not been publicly identified. A motive for the attack was not immediately known.

The episode began after Kansas City police officers were dispatched to a “routine medical call” early on Sunday to check on a woman who was reported to be walking along a section of highway near North Oak Trafficway, the police said.

Officers found the woman and requested help from the emergency medical services for further unspecified treatment. While en route to the hospital, the patient “produced an edged weapon” and stabbed Firefighter Hoffman, the police said.

Firefighter Hoffman’s partner called a crew emergency, and additional Fire Department and Police Department personnel responded. Firefighter Hoffman was taken to North Kansas City Hospital.

“Despite the heroic efforts of KCFD paramedics, the hospital medical team, Firefighter Hoffman succumbed to his injuries in the intensive care unit,” the city said.

Firefighter Hoffman had been a member of the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022, according to the news release.

The police are working with the Clay County prosecutor on criminal charges, the city said.

“We will demand accountability be applied not just to the suspect, but also for any steps in the system that fell short,” said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City.