DETROIT (AP) — A man has been arrested in the stabbing and slashing of two emergency medical technicians as they tried to help an injured woman on a Detroit street, police said.
The Detroit Police Department announced the man’s arrest Tuesday night by members of its Violent Crimes Task Force. Police said the man was also being held on warrants in an inactive 2006 homicide case and a sexual assault case.
Police said they also arrested the woman who the EMTs had been treating. She fled with the man, despite an ankle injury, after the attack early Tuesday. Police and fire officials haven’t said how the man and woman are connected.
City officials said EMTs Kelly Adams and Alfredo Rojas had wounds to their faces and hands from the attack that involved a knife or some other sharp object. They were hospitalized in serious condition, but by Wednesday, The Detroit News reported, Adams was in fair condition and Rojas in good condition.
“We will not tolerate such violence in our city,” police said in a statement. Adams and Rojas were treating the woman’s injured ankle when they asked the man who was with her to step back and calm down because he seemed agitated, interim Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said. At that point, the man attacked Rojas, Jones said.
Mayor Mike Duggan said Adams probably saved Rojas’ life when she intervened and the attacker slashed and stabbed her too. Jones said the EMTs suffered “horrific” wounds and came “within inches of dying” but managed to drive themselves to a hospital. The union for EMTs in Detroit said both are looking at lengthy recoveries.