Paramedics Describe Responding To Suicide Call Under Fire
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - MedStar crews begin each shift checking their medical apparatus and supplies, preparing for every possible medical situation. But there was no way Nate Preissinger or Tyler Morris could prepare for a gunman who opened fire while they responded to a suicide call last Friday.
Two officers found a man shot to death in a home before going to check on a shed in the backyard. A gunman was in the outbuilding waiting in ambush.
"I was walking into the residence as we would any given call," said paramedic Morris. "At that point heavy gunfire erupted from an automatic or semi-automatic."
Their first thought was to get themselves and a medical student riding along with them to safety.
"I heard the truck door slam so I knew the student was OK," said EMT Preissinger. "Then I ran around to the front. All around me I could hear the bullets go off and I immediately ducked down."
Back in the ambulance they started to retreat to safety when they received the call that a police officer was down.
"The intensity skyrocketed," Morris said. "I knew that time was of the essence to get the officer to the hospital. So we made a U-turn. We went back into the scene. That was just a unanimous decision. We just looked at each other and knew we had to go."
Officers rushed their wounded comrade to the ambulance.
"We were off the scene in less than a minute and a half and on route to John Peter Smith," Morris said.
Officer Xavier Serrano suffered multiple gun shot wounds and was in shock.
"I just told him to stay with us," Morris said. "To keep fighting. That we were going to take good care of him."
"That was definitely the most intense situation we've ever been in!" Preissinger said.
The medics were relieved to see officer Serrano again after surgery.
"We were so blessed to see him talking with us and in good spirits," Morris said. "It was a good feeling."
The MedStar crew said it's the first time they know of that one of their ambulances was on-scene when a shooting situation started. But because they were, officer Serrano was in a trauma room just fifteen minutes after he was shot.
The Fort Worth Police Department said Serrano is doing well after suffering a gunshot wound to his left hand arm and upper body. They expect him to be released from the hospital in the next few days.
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