Graham Hoffman, a 29-year-old Kansas City firefighter-paramedic, died after being stabbed by a patient he was taking to a hospital. Kansas City Fire Department Station 10 Facebook

The woman charged with the murder of a Kansas City firefighter-paramedic allegedly tried to drive away in the ambulance after the fatal stabbing early Sunday, according to court documents.

Those court documents detail the timeline of chaotic events that unfolded in the early morning hours Sunday along a highway in Kansas City’s Northland, which left a first responder dead and his patient in jail, charged with his killing.

Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson has charged Shanetta Bossell with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest in the death of 29-year-old Graham Hoffman. All of the charges are felonies.

Hoffman, who fire officials described as a vibrant individual who loved life and serving his community, joined the Kansas City Fire Department in 2022 and was stationed at Station 42 in southeast Kansas City. He was working overtime in Kansas City’s Northland at the time of his death.

Bossell, held in Clay County jail on a $1 million bond, was arraigned Monday afternoon in Clay County Circuit Court, where she pled not guilty on all four counts and requested a public defender.

The killing of the firefighter-paramedic comes within days of Bossell being charged with allegedly biting an off-duty Platte City police officer in Kansas City, North. The officer returned home from work on Wednesday morning and saw Bossell allegedly pulling on the handles of his personal vehicle. He confronted Bossell, and a struggle ensued, during which she bit the officer.

In that case, Bossell was charged with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Court records showed she posted bond on Friday, less than two days before the fatal attack unfolded early Sunday.

Routine medical call

According to the probable cause affidavit supporting the new charges, Kansas City police received a call at 12:40 a.m. Callers asked police to check on the welfare of a woman seen walking on Missouri 152 and North Oak Trafficway.

Arriving officers found the woman, later identified as Bossell, walking on the shoulder just east of North Oak Trafficway.

She had a laceration to a finger and was bleeding heavily, so officers requested that an ambulance respond so that she could be treated.

Paramedics arrived and, after interviewing Bossell, they determined she was not trying to harm herself. The paramedics got Bossell into the back of the ambulance to look at her cut.

Bossell told the paramedics she did not want to go to the hospital. She asked if they could give her a ride home. The paramedics told her they couldn’t take her home, only to the hospital. An officer offered Bossell a ride home, but she refused.

Eventually, Bossell agreed to go to a hospital in the ambulance, according to court documents. An officer followed the ambulance.

Hoffman remained in the back of the ambulance with Bossell while the other paramedic got into the driver’s seat and started driving.

The paramedic told police he heard a commotion in the back of the ambulance when they were just east of the exit ramp to Missouri 152 and Platte Purchase Road.

“I need you to sit back down,” the driver heard Hoffman say. The driver then heard Hoffman yell that he needed help and that Bossell had a knife.

Tried to place ambulance into drive

The ambulance pulled over to the side of the highway at 1:25 a.m. and activated its emergency lights. The officer trailing the ambulance saw the driver get out and run to the back of the ambulance and open its doors, according to court documents.

The officer saw Hoffman and Bossell struggling with each other and then put out an “assist the officer” tone on the police radio to get more officers to respond to the area, according to court documents. The officer got out of his police car and ran to help. As he was running to the ambulance, he told detectives he heard, “She has a knife.”

The paramedic told detectives that as he opened the rear doors, Hoffman said, “She stabbed me in the heart.”

The paramedic saw Bossell holding a dark-colored blade.

The paramedic pulled Hoffman from the rear of the ambulance. He got on his radio and “asked for another ambulance immediately” to their location. The paramedic started providing care to Hoffman and tried to keep him talking and alert as he was fading and becoming non-responsive, according to the documents.

Meanwhile, Bossell had allegedly jumped into the front of the ambulance, climbed into the driver’s seat, and tried to put the ambulance in gear but could not, according to court documents.

The officer who had been trailing the ambulance opened the passenger door and tried to grab Bossell by her legs, but she slipped out of his grasp and got out of the cab, the officer told detectives.

Bossell allegedly tried to run around the ambulance, but the officer cut her off. Bossell then ran back to the ambulance and got into the driver’s seat, according to court documents.

The officer pulled his handgun and grabbed Bossell with his free hand, trying to get her out of the seat. The two fell to the ground, and Bossell landed near his left arm and began to bite down hard on the officer’s arm, the officer told detectives.

The officer struck Bossell in the back of the head with his handgun to release her bite on his arm, according to court documents. Other officers then arrived on the scene, and Bossell was arrested, and the officer went to check on the paramedics. After another ambulance arrived, the officer went to a hospital to get his bite wound checked out.

Detectives who responded to the scene noted that the ambulance was stopped partially in the middle lane of the highway, with medical equipment on the ground near the rear passenger side of the ambulance. They noted that blood was found in various locations of the ambulance and that a knife was found in the walkway between the cab and the rear of the ambulance.

Hoffman, who underwent surgery, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead around 2:15 p.m.