A female paramedic has died following a knife attack in Harmånger in Nordanstig municipality, Sweden, on Saturday. A 25-year-old man has been detained on suspicion of murder.

Police received an emergency call at 11:30 AM about an assault in a residential apartment complex area.

— We were told that an ambulance worker had been injured by a sharp object that a man at the scene had, says Maria Hall, police press spokesperson for the central region.

The woman was taken to hospital but her life could not be saved. A neighbor who knows the suspect recounts:

— My little 12-year-old daughter, who was out with the dog, saw how the ambulance woman came out bleeding. I know the guy who did this. As we understand it, he himself called for an ambulance because he was in such bad condition.

According to the neighbor, several people witnessed the attack.

— There were several witnesses standing outside the entrance when the injured woman ran out. She threw herself out of the apartment after he had stabbed her. The guy stood with two knives in his hands. People screamed at him and then he went back into the apartment again. He is dangerous. That’s well known.

Residents had to stay indoors

The area was cordoned off and residents were advised to stay indoors. Sweden’s National Task Force arrived at 2:30 PM. A female neighbor heard screams from the stairwell and then saw the paramedic on the ground.

— Someone else performed CPR. She kept going for a very long time, she tells Bonnier newspaper Expressen, and explains that she was forced to stay inside for two hours.

— The police called me and said I wasn’t allowed to go out into the stairwell, because I was safer inside.

Two hours after the emergency call, the man was arrested and later detained on probable cause suspected of murder.

Ambulance union: Murder could have been prevented

Henrik Johansson, union secretary at the Swedish Ambulance Union, believes the death could have been prevented with better information sharing between police and healthcare services.

— For many years we have lacked the possibility of flagging, that is, information exchange between police and emergency dispatch, where one could otherwise find out if the person appears in crime and suspect registers – if the person has repeatedly threatened ambulance and rescue personnel, he says to Schibsteds-owned TV4.

— It gets red-flagged. A textbook case of someone who should not have received an ambulance. So it would have made a real difference in this case.

The union has been pushing this issue for 20 years without success.

— We have been so frustrated about this – and we have really been nagging. We have participated in the blue light investigation. We have written articles about it. We bring it up almost daily in various forums. But the employer remains silent.

“A tragedy”

Sineva Ribeiro, chairperson of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, agrees with the criticism.

— Here the employer has a great responsibility to never accept threats and violence against healthcare personnel.

Region Gävleborg (the regional healthcare authority) has activated crisis support for colleagues.

— It is a tragedy. It is a terrible incident. There are upset emotions and we are now taking care of staff and relatives, says Susanna Björklund, deputy director of health and medical services.