Monday, September 15, 2008

From the NY Daily News:

Hero EMT slain in love triangle
; girlfriend's ex sought
BY OREN YANIV, TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Monday, September 15th 2008, 7:57 AM

Jason Ruiz
A hero paramedic who once jumped onto the subway tracks to rescue a stricken woman was stabbed to death early Sunday, cops and relatives said.
Police have arrested the woman's enraged ex-boyfriend, Enrique Pizarro, 25, at about 11:30 p.m. Pizarro was charged with murder and possession of a weapon.
Jason Ruiz, 30, an FDNY emergency medical technician with a long record of bravery, answered a knock on the door of the woman's Sunset Park, Brooklyn, apartment about 1:30 a.m.
The woman's ex-boyfriend immediately started arguing with the pair and pulled a knife.
The suspect stabbed Ruiz, whose father is a retired police detective, twice in the chest and ran off, cops said.
"I heard the screams," said Mario Velazquez, 40, a neighbor. "When the [victim] screamed, somebody ran off."
Ruiz was taken to Lutheran Medical Center but died an hour after the stabbing, cops said.
"It was an unfortunate tragedy," said Ruiz's cousin Carlos Pantoja, 33.
Ruiz's girlfriend had been "harassed" by her ex-boyfriend recently, family members said. Cops said they knew the suspect's identity and were hunting him.
Ruiz, a paramedic for four years, was mourned by fellow emergency medical technicians as a fallen hero.
They hung his uniform at their office at Woodhull Hospital in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Flowers surrounded Ruiz's helmet. Candles sat by his overalls.
"He would do anything for anybody," said EMT Yvonne Aparicio, 30.
"The department is saddened by his loss," said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
In July, Ruiz was recognized for rescuing a woman who had suffered a seizure and fell onto the subway tracks at Marcy and Myrtle Aves in Brooklyn, Long said.
Ruiz and his partner, Juan Rios, jumped onto the tracks without waiting for the power to shut off, pulled the woman to safety and provided emergency care.
"He was the first one on the tracks doing what he was trained to do," said Rios, 27.
He was awarded a medal for "meritorious acts" in 2006 and 2007.
"He was very loyal," said the sister of Ruiz's girlfriend, who asked not to be named. "He was a good guy."

Funeral details will follow. Jason, shield #3805 will be Missed...R.I.P. Brother
His attacker turned himself in and he was arraigned earlier tonight.

No comments: