Wolverhampton: Man arrested after two paramedics stabbed in chest at house

A man has been arrested after two paramedics were stabbed in the chest during a callout to a home in Wolverhampton.

The paramedics, a man and a woman, were attacked at about 12.30pm on Monday after being called to check on the welfare of a man at a property in Stephens Close, West Midlands Police said.

They were both stabbed in the chest and were taken to hospital, but are now in a stable condition “without serious life-threatening injuries”.

Two police officers who were with the paramedics tasered the occupant of the house, a 52-year-old man, and arrested him on suspicion of wounding before taking him to a police station – where he remains.

Anita Millard, who lives next door, said a man lived alone at the property and his elderly mother had raised concerns for his welfare after he failed to answer the door.

The 65-year-old said two paramedics arrived with two police officers and they managed to gain entry by borrowing a screwdriver from a neighbour and using it to remove a door panel.

She said: “The police asked the man’s mother to step back and then the girl paramedic went in, followed by the other medic. Then all I heard was a blood-curdling scream.

“The male paramedic then came backwards out the house and he shouted into his radio ‘help, help, we’ve both been stabbed’. Then he pushed the female paramedic backwards towards the side gate, and away from it all.

“Then the police came in and shouted ‘Taser’ and then they tasered a man. It was like something off the TV.”

Nathan Hudson, a West Midlands Ambulance Service assistant chief ambulance officer, said they were called at about midday over “concerns for welfare from the family of a patient” they had not heard from.

The two paramedics arrived at the house within five minutes of the call and – with police assistance – they managed to gain entry.

“When we gained entry, two of my staff members were assaulted and stabbed in the chest area,” he said.

Further paramedics arrived quickly and treated their two colleagues, he said.

“Thanks to my staff, the officers that attended and also the police which, without their help, I would probably have been telling a very different story today,” he added.

“They (the paramedics) are well, they are in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Birmingham), and they are doing well at this moment in time. They are stable, without serious life-threatening injuries.”

West Midlands Police Superintendent Simon Inglis added that his officers “immediately engaged” with the man after the paramedics were stabbed and he is currently “assisting with our enquiries”.

He added: “It is too early to say in detail, but it is believed that the gentleman may have been suffering a mental health crisis at this time.

“There was no wider motive for the attack on the paramedics and nobody else in the community should feel any fear.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Wolverhampton: Man arrested after two paramedics stabbed in chest at house