Police: Staten Island EMT in stable condition after being shot by patient in ambulance
NEW YORK -- An EMT was in stable condition Thursday and is expected to be OK after police said he was shot by a patient in the back of an ambulance on Staten Island.
Two EMTs were sent to the Funky Monkey bar on Forest Avenue in the West Brighton neighborhood around 7:40 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a drunk and disorderly person, according to police.
The EMTs found a 37-year-old man in front of the bar, escorted him to the ambulance and began to drive him to Richmond University Medical Center. They were about three-quarters of the way to the hospital when the patient allegedly opened fire.
"The driver heard a loud bang. Driver turns around and says to him, 'Hey, what the hell was that?' He says, 'The guy just shot me,' and everything went on from there," said Mike Oats, a Staten Island resident.
Oats witnessed the chaotic aftermath as police and paramedics surrounded the intersection at around 8 p.m.
Watch: NYPD provides update after EMT shot on Staten Island
Officers said the EMT was asking the patient, 37-year-old Thomas McCauley, a series of routine medical questions when, without provocation, McCauley pulled out a 38 caliber revolver.
"As they were traveling down Forest Avenue, the aided male brandished a firearm and fired one round from inside the ambulance, which struck the 25-year-old EMT in the shoulder. The driver of the ambulance pulled over in the vicinity of 646 Forest Avenue, where the aided male fled out the back door of the ambulance," NYPD Inspector Mark Molinari said.
The suspect was quickly apprehended by a retired NYPD detective and an off-duty sanitation worker.
The EMT was rushed to Richmond University Medical Center for treatment. A hospital spokesperson said the other EMT in the ambulance was unhurt and able to drive the victim there.
Charges were pending against the suspect.
