Max Matza
BBC News, Washington
Violence against first responders, including firefighters and paramedics, is disturbingly common in the US.
Earlier this month, medics treating a victim with a gunshot wound in Tulsa, Oklahoma, came under fire by a man who was later gunned down by officers.
“Violence against responders has been on the increase. We’ve had cases, you know, it kind of escalates at different levels,” Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker told KOTV-News, external.
He noted the death of an ambulance driver last month in Missouri, who was fatally stabbed by one of his patients.
In 2012, a high-profile case in Webster, New York, led to new gun laws after four firefighters were killed by a man who set his house on fire and then shot at firefighters.