Charges were still pending Thursday morning against the suspect who shot a Staten Island EMT while being transported to a hospital on Wednesday evening.
According to Inspector Mark Molinari, commanding officer of Detective Bureau Staten Island, 37-year-old Thomas McCauley opened fire on the 25-year-old male EMT while the ambulance was en route to Richmond University Medical Center just after 7:41 p.m. on May 18.
Law enforcement sources said the EMT team picked up McCauley outside the Funky Monkey Bar at 1205 Forest Ave. in Elm Park after the suspect allegedly acted disorderly.
The 25-year-old male EMT was riding with McCauley in the ambulance when, Molinari said, the suspect suddenly pulled out a handgun.
“As they were traveling down Forest Avenue, the aided male brandished a firearm and fired one round inside the ambulance, which struck the [EMT] in the shoulder,” Molinari said.
The shot prompted the ambulance driver to pull over and stop near the corner of Forest and Oakland Avenues in West Brighton.
There, Molinari said, McCauley allegedly jumped out of the ambulance and ran off. However, a retired NYPD detective and an off-duty Sanitation Department lieutenant officer were able to apprehend McCauley a short distance away.
Meanwhile, the ambulance driver brought her injured partner to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
Molinari said that officers from the 120th Precinct, in responding to the shooting, recovered the weapon McCauley used: a .38-caliber revolver.
The suspect was brought to the 120th Precinct stationhouse for further questioning, and eventual booking, the inspector noted.
