Two Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officials were forced to flee for their lives after armed suspects allegedly spiked their ambulance and opened fire on them while they were transporting a patient on the N1 highway in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The incident happened at about 1.30am on August 29, shortly after the Phumlani Plaza, according to the Gauteng Department of Health.
The crew was transporting a patient from Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital to Jubilee Hospital as part of a down-referral when the ambulance was reportedly spiked.
The officials stopped to inspect the vehicle, apparently unaware that they were about to be confronted by armed men.
According to the department, two male suspects approached the ambulance and fired shots at the EMS personnel.
Crew members escape in different directions
The two officials immediately attempted to get themselves out of danger.
One fled on foot and sought safety in a nearby area, while the other managed to drive away from the scene.
The Emergency Communication Centre was alerted, prompting Gauteng EMS management, other available emergency crews and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to respond.
Both EMS officials were subsequently taken to a medical facility for assessment. The department said Employee Wellness services had also been activated to provide emotional and psychological support following the traumatic incident.
Gauteng Health spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department strongly condemned the attack and called for the protection of emergency medical workers.
“The Gauteng Department of Health condemns in the strongest terms the armed attack on two Gauteng EMS personnel while performing their duties in the early hours of this morning,” Mabona said.
Patient safely transferred after attack
Despite the violence, the patient being transported was not abandoned.
The department said the patient remained stable and was transferred to another ambulance before being safely transported to Jubilee Hospital.
Mabona said the affected personnel had been taken to a medical facility for the necessary assessments.
“The patient who was being transported remained stable, was transferred to another ambulance and safely transported to Jubilee Hospital,” he said.
The department stressed that the consequences of attacks on EMS personnel extend beyond the workers themselves.
When paramedics are forced to withdraw from an incident or become victims of violence, emergency services can be delayed, potentially placing patients in life-threatening situations.
Not the first attack on Gauteng EMS
The latest incident comes against a long-running backdrop of attacks on emergency medical workers in Gauteng.
The provincial health department has previously warned that paramedics are increasingly exposed to criminals while responding to emergency calls, with incidents ranging from robbery and hijacking to assaults and attacks involving firearms.
In July 2023, a Gauteng EMS crew responding to what appeared to be a distress call in Nellmapius, east of Pretoria, was hijacked and kidnapped.
Two armed men allegedly stopped the ambulance, forced the crew to drive to another location and tied the paramedics up in a shack. The occupants of the property where the emergency call had supposedly originated later told authorities that they had never called for an ambulance.
The crew eventually escaped and raised the alarm. The ambulance was recovered, with Gauteng EMS saying its vehicles were equipped with tracking and camera technology.
The case resulted in one suspect, Matome Tumi Sepesu, being convicted and sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment in April 2024. Three other suspects remained wanted at the time.
The 2024 conviction came amid further attacks on Gauteng EMS workers. The department said that same week paramedics were robbed in Reiger Park, Ekurhuleni, while another EMS crew member had a cellphone stolen in Eersterust, Mamelodi.
Department warns that patients ultimately pay the price
Gauteng authorities have repeatedly stressed that attacks on EMS workers are not simply attacks on individual healthcare employees.
In 2024, then-Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said attacks on healthcare workers made it increasingly difficult for emergency teams to respond to communities.
“This conviction sends a strong message to criminals who are targeting healthcare workers when they are discharging their duties trying to save lives of communities,” Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
The province has previously introduced measures aimed at reducing the risks faced by paramedics, including profiling areas where hoax calls are suspected, developing procedures for preventing attacks and working with SAPS, Community Policing Forums and community leaders.
The Gauteng Department of Health has also provided trauma counselling and wellness support for EMS personnel exposed to attacks.
Call for communities to protect paramedics
Following Saturday’s shooting, the Gauteng Department of Health urged members of the public to help protect EMS personnel and work with law enforcement agencies to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
The department warned that violence against emergency workers can disrupt the very services communities rely on when lives are at risk.
“Attacks on EMS personnel do not only endanger healthcare workers, but also delays emergency services and place patients who urgently need medical attention at risk,” the department said.
The circumstances surrounding the latest attack remain subject to investigation, with SAPS involved in the response to the incident. No arrests had been announced in the reports available at the time of publication.
