Florida First Responders Shot At During Phony Emergency Call

SARASOTA, FL — Florida first responders were shot at early Monday morning when they arrived at the scene of what turned out to be a phony emergency call. No one was injured but the deputy chief of the Sarasota Police Department told reporters that the attack on two paramedics with the Sarasota County Fire Department is being treated as an assault on his central Gulf Coast community.

"An assault on the fire department on first responders — nurses, teachers — this is an assault on our community, and we're not going to stand for that," asserted Deputy Chief Pat Robinson of the Sarasota Police Department.

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The incident happened around 3:55 a.m. shortly after the paramedics arrived at a home in the 2900 block of Goodrich Avenue. The phony call was to help a person who had fallen.

"These two paramedics were driving out here to a call for service. They thought they were going to be rendering aid to someone in need," said Robinson. "What they were confronted with was an individual who meant to do them harm."

Multiple shots were fired into the driver's side door of the ambulance as the paramedics were preparing to leave the area. Neither were injured though the paramedics were inside the vehicle at the time.

A similar incident happened in the late 80s or early 90s.

"When we received the call it was not an out of the ordinary call. It was a routine call. So our personnel responded as normal," explained Chief Michael Regnier of the Sarasota County Fire Department. "When they determined that there was not an emergency at the residence, they left like they were supposed to but encountered that individual."

The shots came from across the street. The shooter was believed to be male and wearing a hoodie. He escaped on foot.

It was not immediately clear if either of the paramedics knew the shooter.

Robinson said that police will be responding with fire department units on their calls for at least the next several days.

"Unfortunately, in today's day and age, just wearing a uniform or happening to be in an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens can make you a target," added Robinson.

Watch below as Deputy Chief Pat Robinson of the Sarasota Police Department discusses the attack on two paramedics:

To report a tip, call the Sarasota Police Department at 941-316-1199 or call Crime Stoppers of Sarasota County at 941-366-TIPS.

Video and image courtesy Sarasota Police Department