Duggan: 'Hero' EMT stabbed in face saving partner

A city of Detroit emergency medical service worker is being hailed a hero after she intervened in an attack on her partner early this morning that left both of them with slash marks and stab wounds on their face and hands.

Attacked by an "agitated" man armed with a sharp object in the Cass Corridor area of Midtown, the female and male EMTs were within "inches of dying" after driving themselves to Detroit Receiving Hospital, said interim Executive Fire Commissioner Eric Jones.

The suspect was arrested Tuesday night, Detroit Police said.

In a news conference outside of the hospital late this morning, Mayor Mike Duggan identified the EMTs as Kelly Adams and Alfredo Rojas. Duggan said they're in "good spirits."

"They're being extremely well cared for by the doctors and nurses at Receiving Hospital," Duggan said. "I just let them know that every single person in this community is thinking about them. Our wishes, our prayers are with them. And they're doing as well as you could expect.

"I think that at this point, the injuries are bad, but I think they both know it could have been worse. From all of the accounts I'm hearing, Kelly Adams probably saved the life of Alfredo Rojas with her intervention. These folks are out saving our lives and ... all of a sudden someone is coming at you. It's heart wrenching, it's heartbreaking. These are good people and they didn't deserve this. But all we can do now is have the community pull behind them."

Padraic Sweeny, chief of emergency medicine at Detroit Receiving, said the EMTs are expected to recover and are being treated by the trauma team at the hospital.

"We expect them to do well," he said. "What's next is they get their injures tended to. The recovery is basically up to the trauma team."

Commissioner Jones described the scene inside their ambulance as "horrific." He said the two hadn't initially called for police support when responding to the call, at about 12:30 a.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Third Street. They were there to help a woman with a reported ankle injury.

They arrived to find the woman and the assailant at the curb, not far from the Neighborhood Service Organization, which helps homeless people. Jones said it's unclear what agitated the man to attack the paramedics.

"They told him to step back and calm down," Jones said. "At that time, the male subject engaged the male EMT, stabbed and slashed him several times. He is going to require surgery."

The female EMT has been with the department for 13 years, and the male EMT has been there for two, he said. Both will have permanent scarring from the attack. Jones said both are "very brave" for working in dangerous conditions.

"They're very hardworking, very motivated," Jones said. "They love the city."

Detroit Police said the suspect in the stabbing is being held on two other warrants: a sexual assault case, and a homicide case from 2006 that had gone inactive.

Police also arrested the woman who was initially seeking EMS treatment, though they did not specify how she was connected to the case. More details would be released Wednesday, said Sgt. Cassandra Lewis, a Detroit Police spokesperson.

Jones said he'll be meeting with Detroit Police Chief James Craig today to discuss training for de-escalation and possibly defensive tactics. Duggan said he has had several conversations with Jones today about improving safety for EMTs.

"It's something he's digging into," Duggan said. "Whether training would have prevented this incident or whether you had someone with a mental issue who just attacked, I can't tell you. He and I have already been talking today about what measures can be taken. Chief Craig and the Police Department are all over attempting to find the individual who attacked them."

Contact Robert Allen at rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI.

Contact Katrease Stafford at kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.