A retired paramedic has broken down after leaving a letter about the dangers of his profession outside the McDonald’s restaurant where a young colleague was stabbed to death.
A NSW Ambulance worker, 29, pulled into the Queen St, Campbeltown restaurant carpark in Sydney‘s south-west to grab coffee with a colleague about 5.30am when he was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen.
The victim is understood to have been on probation and was completing paperwork for the end of his nightshift when he was targeted by the knifeman. He is understood to be from the nearby suburb of Camden.
A 21-year-old man is in police custody and is assisting officers with inquiries, while a blue Honda has been towed away from the restaurant.
Out the front of the restaurant, visibly emotional ex-paramedic Scott Fogarty told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I didn’t know him personally, but I’m a medically retired paramedic from Campbeltown station and my colleagues mean the world to me.
‘It’s just devastating. We go to work to help people in need and all we want to do is go home to our families in one piece.’
The letter Mr Fogarty left behind, alongside a bunch of flowers, pays tribute to the victim who ‘paid the ultimate price’ – and sheds light on the harrowing scenes many ambulance workers witness.
A retired paramedic, Scott Fogarty, has laid flowers and a letter of solidarity (pictured) at the scene of a 29-year-old paramedic’s stabbing and eventual death in Campbeltown on Friday
‘We know the dangers and unfortunately are exposed to those dangers far too often,’ the letter reads.
‘Unfortunately for this young man his duty and career has ended far too soon from the very thing that scares us all whilst on duty.
‘I am absolutely devastated, angry and heartbroken for my fellow Paramedic Brother.
‘Prayers to you Brother, your shift has ended, Rest in Peace!’
Read paramedic Scott Fogarty’s letter of solidarity
Retired paramedic Scott Fogarty (pictured) did not know the victim personally, but worked at the Campbeltown station and told Daily Mail Australia that his ‘colleagues mean the world to me’
We dedicate our lives to serving the community, helping those in need.
We know the dangers and unfortunately are exposed to those dangers far too often, but we all hope that at the end of our shift we can go home to our loved ones in one piece.
Some of us break down after years of burnout and torment from the trauma we experience, some push on carrying the scars.
Unfortunately for this young man his duty and career has ended far too soon from the very thing that scares us all whilst on duty.
He has paid the ultimate price for being a caring brave soul devoting his life to saving and serving those in need!
I pray for his young family, extended family, our colleagues and his friends!
I am absolutely devastated, angry and heartbroken for my fellow Paramedic Brother.
Prayers to you Brother, your shift has ended, Rest in Peace!
Paramedic (Retired)
Scott Fogarty 16774
Campbelltown Station,
SW Sector, Sydney.
Paul Murphy, a fire and safety engineer from the local area, also laid flowers outside the police cordon because his paramedic son-in-law knew the victim personally.
‘It’s rocked us. My son-in-law knows him,’ he said.
‘It’s a tight community – all the paramedics tend to know each other.’
Mr Murphy, who did not want to reveal any more out of respect for the victim’s family.
‘It’s pretty alarming what they (paramedics) have to put up with.’
The paramedic had been rushed to hospital after being stabbed in an early morning attack
NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said it is a currently an ‘extremely difficult time’ for the victim’s family and colleagues.
Commissioner Morgan said he met the paramedic’s mother, father, wife, and sister this morning who are ‘beside themselves’.
He said the man’s father told him he knew from the age of five that he wanted to be a paramedic.
It was a dream he fulfilled just 12 months ago.
‘He wanted nothing more to serve his community,’ Commissioner Morgan said.
‘He’d been with us for a relatively short period of time and had recently found out that he’d been posted back to south-west Sydney.
‘I’m told he was so pleased that he was going to be able to stay here and bring up his family.’
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce (pictured) broke down during a press conference on Friday
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce broke down in tears as she expressed sympathy for the victim’s family.
‘The health system is one big family and to lose someone in this way is just incomprehensible to us,’ she said
‘And to lose someone in this way is incomprehensible to us.
‘I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the wife and family of the paramedic.’
Ms Pearce said the state’s health system has been through a lot over these past few years and she was proud of all workers who have continued to show up every day to help other members of the community.
Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said the 21-year-old man may have been driving around the Ingleburn and Campbeltown areas in a blue Honda Jazz Civic prior to the incident and urged the public to come forward if they had seen the vehicle.
The NSW Ambulance paramedic was stabbed outside a McDonald’s on Queen Street at Campbelltown, south-west Sydney, at 5.30am on Friday
Asked if the man in custody was known to police Mr Lanyon said: ‘He is only known to us through a few interactions.’
Police have set up a crime scene at the McDonalds and have urged members of the public to avoid the area.
Two men were allowed to leave the cordon just after 11am, one of whom appeared to be the McDonald’s manager.
He said he had been told not to speak to the media but when asked if the paramedic was going to be okay he said: ‘We don’t know’.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the stabbing was a ‘terrible situation’ for the emergency services community.
‘It’s a reminder that’s it a very difficult and dangerous job,’ he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police tasered a 21-year-old suspect at the scene, arrested him and took him to Campbelltown Police Station by police , no charges have been laid
