Police were involved in a tense standoff at a home in the city's southwest after a man attacked and injured three paramedics who responded to a call at the residence on Thursday morning.
EMS crews attended a home in the 3900 block of Stanley Road S.W at about 8:00 a.m. and found a man in medical distress, suffering from an apparent drug overdose.
They began to work on resuscitating him when he suddenly awoke and attacked the group.
“That individual became quite physically aggressive and violent to the three EMS practitioners that were on scene. It escalated very quickly, we probably were in that residence for no more than, I would imagine, 60 seconds before this occurred,” said Adam Loria, EMS Public Education Officer.
The man then fled inside his home and locked the door, prompting police to attend the scene.
The paramedics suffered minor soft tissue injuries as a result of the attack and were transported to hospital.
Police surrounded the home for several hours to try and coax the man out to speak with them.
Officers sent in a robot and then a police dog to check out the situation and were able to enter the home soon after.
The man was arrested inside the home around noon and taken into custody.
“Very scary time for all involved, our thoughts are with them and their families. Our EMS leadership team went to the hospital as soon as this call occurred to meet them. The crew and family was offered debriefing options as well as counselling if required and we’ll be following up with them,” said Loria.
The injured paramedics were all treated in hospital and released.
