Detroit firefighters were responding to the scene of a deadly car crash when a mob of onlookers began attacking the first responders, throwing rocks and even breaking through the windshield of the station’s truck.
According to the Post Millennial, a “GMV Terrain crashed into a building near Detroit’s 7 Mile Road and Terrell Avenue” at approximately 3am on Monday morning, trapping the two individuals in the vehicle and killing the driver.
As firefighters and medics began to address the scene of the accident, bystanders formed a crowd surrounding the wrecked SUV, allegedly preventing first responder personnel from rescuing the two individuals involved in the crash. First responders reportedly told dispatch that the medics “couldn’t get close enough to the two people trapped in the SUV to start life-saving measures,” Click on Detroit reported.
One individual in the mob has been accused of stealing a piece of equipment from the fire engine and breaking through the windshield of the vehicle, while others in the unruly crowd began hurling rocks at the first responders.
Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms issued a statement following the unanticipated attack on the first responders, politely asking residents to “not distract” medics in future incidents.
“We ask the residents of Detroit to cooperate with our first responders and to not distract them when they are delivering medical care to their fellow citizens.”
Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms
The statement received some backlash online, as one X user wrote, “I’m sure all you had to do was ask nicely,” sarcastically adding, “They just didn’t know they’re not supposed to attack first responders. This is all simply a misunderstanding.”
Various progressive cities that embraced social movements such as “defund the police” have seen an increase in violence toward first responders in the area. Firefighters in Seattle have been directly affected by the city’s growing crime rate after criminals began intentionally targeting first responder personnel vehicles outside the Seattle Fire Department’s Station 8 location. Around the nation, groups have protested any police presence in minority communities based on racial and social justice, which has only led to an increase in violent crime.
