Two paramedics from the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services were held at gunpoint and robbed while attending to a medical patient in Hurst Hill at 4am.
According to media liasion Robert Mulaudzi, “The paramedics crew had responded to a medical call in Hurst Hill while the crews were busy treating the patient in the patient compartment of the ambulance.”
Five armed men pointed their firearms at the driver and demanded his wallet. He handed the wallet to them and managed to escape. His partner at the back of the ambulance heard the commotion, grabbed the patient and ran with the patient in tow to the nearest main road. A taxi driver drove them to the nearest police station.
They went back to the scene of the incident with the police and recovered the ambulance and discovered that the two-way radio was missing in the
ambulance.
”The two paramedics are receiving counselling from our Internal Employee Assistance Programme office and the Chaplaincy office while the case has been reported at Brixton Police Station for further investigations.
”This incident occurred two weeks after three of our paramedics were robbed at gunpoint in Yeoville while attending to a patient in distress.
“We have seen an escalation in the number of incidents where paramedics are robbed while rendering essential service to the citizens of the City of Johannesburg,” added Mulaudzi.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric behaviour by these criminal elements who are on a mission to disrupt the delivery of an essential service to our communities throughout the City of Johannesburg.
”City of Johannesburg calls on the community to protect the Emergency Services personnel by reporting criminal elements to the police so that we can be able to do what we are supposed to do – saving lives and properties of the citizens of the City,” Mulaudzi concluded.
