Police are investigating after a first responder was stabbed while attending to an individual in an ambulance as it was headed through North Philadelphia in Thursday morning.
According to police, in an incident that happened at about 6:30 a.m., a medic that was working on a man -- who himself had been stabbed -- was attacked by the individual he was tending to.
The incident, officials said, happened as the ambulance was driving in the area of North 22nd and West Diamond streets.
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The medic, a 40-year-old man, was stabbed twice before the attacker jumped out of the vehicle and fled the scene of the incident, officials said.
However, law enforcement officials said the suspected attacker was recaptured and is in police custody. The weapon used in this attack was also recovered, officials said.
The medic who was attacked was taken to a nearby hospital and was initially listed in critical condition, officials said.
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In a morning update, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said that the incident happened after the medical team picked up the suspected attacker on a call at the intersection of 18th Street and Ridge Avenue at about 6:13 a.m.
Shortly after picking the man up, Vanore said, the driver of the ambulance noticed "a commotion" in the back of the vehicle as it was headed to a nearby hospital.
"The driver had noticed, in the rearview mirror, there's a commotion in the back. He pulled over around 22nd and Diamond streets. When he opened the door to check what was going on, the male fled on foot and he noticed that his partner was bleeding," Vanore said.
The medic suffered stab wounds to his chest and hand, officials said.
"He may have been bit at one point and time, we aren't sure," Vanore said.
Fire Department Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson said that the incident was "one of those things that you can't predict."
"It is unfortunate because first responders, what we do everyday, is we go out there and we attempt to make people's lives better and, it's one of those things that you can't predict," said Thompson.
Also, during the morning update, officials said the medic's condition was upgraded to serious condition and he is expected to survive.
An investigation is ongoing, according to police.
This is the second incident in less than a week in which Philly medical workers were injured.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, three nurses were struck outside of Penn Presbyterian Hospital as they tended to the victim of a shooting.
“We know that violence against health care workers is at a crisis level. Forty-four percent of nurses have been subjected to physical violence and 68 percent have reported verbal abuse," Nicole Hoke, Penn Presbyterian's Chief Nursing Officer, has said following the injuries to nurses there.
The suspect sought in that case turned himself in to officials on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
Mayor Cherelle Parker -- who spoke at a press conference earlier in the week about the hit-and-run -- released a statement on Thursday's stabbing.
For the second time in less than a week, a front-line first responder has been assaulted in the line of duty while caring for others in our City.
— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) October 17, 2024
Today’s stabbing of a @PhillyFireDept paramedic represents the fourth front-line health care worker or first responder harmed while…
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
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