Patient in Ambulance Shoots New York EMT

Staten Island Advance, N.Y.

Charges are pending on Thursday morning against a 37-year-old man who allegedly shot an EMT in an ambulance on Wednesday night in West Brighton, according to a police spokesman.

The 25-year-old EMT continues to be in stable condition at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, the NYPD spokesman said.

The EMT was among emergency responders for a call of a disorderly person outside of the Funky Monkey Lounge located at 1205 Forest Ave. at 7:41 p.m, said NYPD Inspector Mark Molinari, the commanding officer of Detective Borough Staten Island.

Police identified the suspect as Thomas McCauley.

The suspect is being held at the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George. Charges are pending further investigation and conferral with the district attorney's office, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The EMT crew saw McCauley in front of the bar and placed him in the back of ambulance. While in the back of the vehicle traveling down Forest Avenue, the male suspect pulled out a gun and fired one round inside the ambulance, striking the EMT in the shoulder, police said.

The female driver of the ambulance pulled over on the 600 block of Forest Avenue and McCauley then fled out the back door of the vehicle, police said. He was quickly apprehended by a retired NYPD detective and an off-duty Department of Sanitation lieutenant, Molinari said.

According to a source with knowledge of the incident, the EMT was treating the suspect and as he looked up, the patient had a gun pointed at his head.

The EMT twisted to the side and the suspect fired one shot which struck his shoulder, the source said. A .38-caliber revolver was recovered at the scene.

The driver of the ambulance transported the wounded EMT to nearby Richmond University Medical Center. The wounded EMT is employed by that hospital.

The victim was alert and joking with doctors and nurses and initially was admitted for observation, the source said.