A routine run turned ugly Thursday in the Concourse section of the Bronx, when a 37-year-old FDNY emergency medical technician was assaulted after someone hurled a rock at his marked ambulance, police said. The medic was taken to Lincoln Hospital with minor injuries and was expected to be treated and released.
The attack unfolded near Morris Ave. and McClellan St., where officers arrested a person at the scene, according to the New York Daily News. The EMT, described in police accounts as 37 years old, was inside a clearly marked FDNY ambulance when the rock struck, and the confrontation escalated into an assault.
Close Calls Have Piled Up
The Concourse incident is only the latest close call for Bronx EMS crews. On May 21, gunfire shattered an ambulance while EMTs sat inside during a response in Claremont, according to ABC7. In April, multiple EMTs were hurt while responding to a call in Morris Heights, as reported by NBC New York. Those back-to-back scares have fueled renewed calls from unions and city officials to step up protections for first responders.
Union Leaders Demand Protections
Union leaders say the steady drumbeat of incidents points to a worsening safety crisis for EMS workers and are pressing the city for both pay parity and stronger on-the-job safeguards. “Members continue to be treated as second-class public servants,” a union statement noted, according to EMS1, which reviewed recent attacks and related union testimony.
Police took a suspect into custody at the scene of Thursday’s rock attack, but officials had not yet announced charges or a motive, the New York Daily News reported. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses while the EMT recovers from minor injuries at Lincoln Hospital.
Advocates say the string of assaults highlights the hazards medics accept when they roll into volatile scenes and adds fresh urgency to ongoing contract talks and demands for stronger protections. City and police officials did not immediately release additional information beyond initial statements to local media.
