A woman who fatally stabbed a paramedic firefighter who was trying to help her is now facing a murder charge, police say.

Shanetta Bossell, 39, has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, third-degree assault and resisting arrest in the stabbing death of Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department paramedic firefighter Graham Hoffman, KSHB reports.

According to court filings, police in Kansas City, Missouri, responded around 12:40 a.m. Sunday to a report along Missouri Highway 152 for a welfare check on someone in the area. When officers arrived, they found Bossell walking along the shoulder, according to the court documents.

After interacting with Bossell, police called for an ambulance to be sent to the scene, noting that the woman had a laceration on her finger that was bleeding severely.

Paramedics from the fire department spoke to Bossell, and determined that the woman had not tried to hurt herself and did not want to be taken to a hospital. When police offered to drive her home, she turned them down. Eventually, Bossell changed her mind and said she did want to go to a hospital, and was loaded into the ambulance. Police said they would follow the ambulance to the hospital, according to the court record.

Around 1:25 a.m., after the convoy left for the hospital, the ambulance driver turned on the vehicle’s emergency lights, stopped the vehicle along the road, and ran to its rear doors. Along the way, the driver yelled to the police officer that the Bossell “has a knife.”

According to the officer’s report, he saw Hoffman and Bossell struggling inside the ambulance and called for help.

Bossell got free and allegedly tried to steal the ambulance at that point, but could not get the vehicle into drive.

The police officer tried to grab Bossell’s legs, but she slipped out of his hands and ran into the back of the ambulance. The officer circled back and cut off her escape, according to court documents. Bossell allegedly stopped and ran back for the driver’s seat.

At that point, the officer pulled his gun and grabbed Bossell, and the two toppled over. During their struggle, Bossell allegedly bit the officer, who responded by pistol whipping Bossell in the back of the head.

As the fight was going on, the ambulance driver was trying to tend to Hoffmann, who was reportedly becoming non-responsive. He was stabbed in the heart during the incident and later died from his wounds.

Eventually more police arrived at the scene and managed to restrain Bossell.

“Despite the efforts of first responders and medical teams at North Kansas City Hospital, Firefighter Hoffman succumbed to his injuries. He was 29 and had served with the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022,” the Kansas City Fire Department confirmed in a statement.

According to prosecutors, the knife they believe was used by Hoffman to kill the driver was found between the vehicle’s cab its rear.

Police officers encountered Bossell less than a week earlier – on April 23 when she allegedly bit a police officer several times when he tried to arrest her, according to KSHB.

A few weeks before that alleged incident, Bossell was cited for allegedly rear-ending another car and fleeing the scene.

Kansas City’s Mayor Quinton Lucas issued a statement that noted how quickly the stabbing happened after Bossell was released from custody.

“Like many, I share concern that the defendant had within the past week been arrested and charged by prosecutors with felony assault on a law enforcement officer only to, based upon the allegations, return as a serious threat to the public and first responders only days later. I believe in our justice system and will await further information about all that led to this heartbreaking incident and all that could have been done to avoid it,” Lucas said.

The mayor also issued a statement remembering Hoffman:

“Graham was 29 years old, someone who had an exceptional life ahead of him, and he died doing something that was so impactful and important to all of us, serving the community,” Mayor Lucas told members of the media. “There will be many steps ahead as we evaluate what happened, as we review what occurred, as we address whatever needs to happen in the future. But today I’m focused on grieving for his mother, his father, his sibling, his family and everyone in the KCFD family.”

As of Sunday evening, Bossell is being held on a $1 million bond, and if convicted she could face up to life in prison.