By Leila Merrill
LAWTON, Okla. — A bullet struck a Comanche County Memorial Hospital ambulance at about 8 p.m. Sunday in Lawton. No one was wounded, KSWO reported.
“The bullet hit the top rear of the driver side, went through a supply cabinet, and hit the opposite wall of the ambulance, just inches away from Leif Johnsons’ shoulder,” KSWO also reported.
Prior to the shooting, Johnson and his partner were transporting a patient to a hospital when they saw a man lying in the road. The responders stopped to help the man, who mumbled something and stumbled into a nearby yard.
“At that point, the homeowner came out with a gun and threatened to shoot the guy if he didn’t get off the yard,” Johnson said. “I told the homeowner to go inside, lock the door. At that point, the assailant took his aggression out on the door, and the homeowner shot through the door, hitting the ambulance, and about four inches from my right shoulder.”
“I told my driver to go, and I shut the door. We got down the road and called PD again and notified them that they were shooting. There was no time to be afraid or scared. I’m just glad everybody is okay,” Johnson said.
Comanche County Memorial Hospital Ambulance Manager Jamie Hennessee said this is not the first incident like this.
“Just several months ago, we had some crew members, and there were some shots fired in the general direction of our team members. No ambulances were hit, no personnel were hit, so it didn’t make it as real as what we experienced last night and actually seeing the bullet hole in the truck,” she said.
“As medical crew members here in town we are here to help, we’re here to protect,” Hennessee said. “We want to make sure our crew members don’t feel as if they are being targeted or that they are unsafe while doing these things.”
The Lawton Police Department said they have several suspects in custody.
The shooting follows an officer-involved shooting that also happened on Sunday, but authorities say the incidents are not linked.