A gunman opened fire on a paramedic while the paramedic was treating a civilian with a gunshot wound Monday morning, Dallas police said.
The suspect was later found dead from a “self-inflicted wound” when a police robot searched a home not far from the shooting, said Mayor Mike Rawlings.
A second deceased person was found in the same home on the block where the shooting occurred. Police have not released the identities of the dead.
Interim Dallas Police Chief David Pughes says the incident reportedly began as a “simple dispute between two neighbors that escalated into a shooting.”
The paramedics apparently believed they were responding to a suicide call, Dallas Fire-Rescue Department Chief David Coatney told reporters.
“They served to try to take care of a citizen,” the fire-rescue chief said. “Unfortunately, we had a tragic event where they were shot at.”
Shortly afterward, Dallas police officers, responding to an active shooter call around 11:30 a.m., arrived to discover an ambulance at the scene. The officers also found the paramedic and another person down in the street, Pughes said.
Pughes said it is believed the gunman was in the street shooting when the first unit arrived. He said officers took cover from the gunfire.
Another officer, a sergeant, arrived and noticed the paramedic was severely wounded, Pughes said. The unidentified officer “went above and beyond as many of the Dallas police officers do each and every day,” Pughes said.
“He went in alone and he pulled the paramedic out, placed him in his squad car and drove him to Baylor Hospital,” Pughes said.
Dallas officials credited the officer with saving the paramedic’s life.
“In my mind, someone that was not mentally stable dealt a lot of pain this afternoon,” Rawlings said. “And our heroic paramedic stepped in to help a citizen putting their lives on the line,” the mayor said.
He said the officer “rescued that individual and now the doctors get to do their part.”
“That’s how we come together as a city to protect each other, to have each other’s back,” Rawlings said.
Rawlings says the injured paramedic underwent surgery Monday afternoon and was in critical but stable condition. He and the wounded citizen were in the intensive care unit at a local hospital.
A Dallas officer was also treated at the scene for an unspecified injury, authorities said.
Police had closed roads near the intersection of Dolphin Street and Interstate 30 shortly after the shooting in the search for the alleged shooter.
“Confirming one paramedic shot while responding to a call. No detail at this time. Thoughts and prayers are with all impacted,” Dallas Fire-Rescue tweeted earlier.
The shooting happened near the Dallas Fire-Rescue’s Dodd J. Miller Training Center, local affiliates reported. The center is located about a quarter mile south of Interstate 30.
The FBI is assisting Dallas Police in the investigation, according to FBI spokeswoman Lauren Hagee.
