INCIDENT BEGAN AT HWY. 152 AND N. OAK IN CLAY COUNTY
A Kansas City firefighter-paramedic was fatally stabbed by a woman who was being transported by ambulance to an area hospital.
The stabbing occurred inside an ambulance in Clay County as the emergency vehicle was transporting the female patient to Saint Luke’s Northland, which is located off Barry Road in Platte County.
Charged with first degree murder in the case is Shanetta Bossell, 39, of the 1900 block of NE 104th Terrace, Kansas City in Clay County. Bossell is accused of stabbing 29-year-old firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman.
Bossell is being held in the Clay County Jail on a $1 million bond.
According to Kansas City police, at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, April 27, officers were dispatched to a “check the welfare” call at Hwy. 152 and North Oak Trafficway in Clay County. The call reported a woman walking on the highway. Callers were concerned for her safety, said KCPD Cpt. Jake Becchina.
Responding officers located the woman on the side of the highway at Hwy. 152 and N. Oak. Ultimately, the officers requested EMS to respond for further treatment.
According to court documents, she had a severe cut to a finger and was bleeding heavily. Officers requested that an ambulance respond so that she could be treated. Paramedics arrived and, after interviewing Bossell, they determined she was not trying to harm herself. The paramedics got Bossell into the back of the ambulance to look at her laceration.
EMS began to transport the woman to the hospital for further treatment.
While en route to the hospital in the ambulance, at about 1:25 a.m., the female produced “an edged weapon,” Becchina said, and stabbed the Kansas City Fire Department firefighter/paramedic in the chest, causing significant injuries. The ambulance driver then stopped the ambulance at Hwy. 152 and Platte Purchase and signaled for help to a KCPD officer who had been following the ambulance. That KCPD officer eventually took Bossell into custody following a struggle, which according to court documents, included the suspect hopping into the driver’s seat of the ambulance. Court documents indicate the suspect at one point bit the arm of the police officer.
Hoffman’s partner declared a crew emergency, and requested extra medical help. The partner and fellow firefighters worked to save Hoffman’s life as they drove him to North Kansas City Hospital.
Hoffman was treated in the emergency room before being taken into surgery. After surgery, he was placed in the intensive care unit, where he died. His death was reported to KCPD at 2:15 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Becchina said.
Clay County prosecutors have charged Bossell with first degree murder, armed criminal action, third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Kansas City Fire Department officials say that Hoffman had been a member of the fire department for three years.
The incident came less than a week after Bossell was charged with allegedly biting an off-duty Platte City police officer in an incident that occurred in Clay County. The Platte City officer, who lives in Clay County, had returned home from work on that occasion and saw Bossell allegedly pulling on the handles of his personal vehicle. The off-duty officer confronted Bossell and a struggle ensued, during which Bossell allegedly bit the officer. In that incident, Bossell was charged in Clay County with second degree assault of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrests.
Online court records indicate she had posted bond in that case on Friday.
