A Kansas City paramedic was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning while trying to help a woman who had a known history of assaulting first responders, according to reports.
Graham Hoffman, a 29-year-old paramedic firefighter with the Kansas City Fire Department, died after being attacked inside an ambulance by 39-year-old Shanetta Bossell, who is now facing charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, assault, and resisting arrest. As reported by The Independent and ABC News, Bossell had only recently been released on bond following a previous assault case involving a police officer.
According to court documents cited by The Independent, police responded around 12:40 a.m. Sunday to a welfare check along Missouri Highway 152. They found Bossell walking along the shoulder, bleeding from a deep finger laceration. After initially refusing help, Bossell later agreed to be transported to a hospital.
While en route, the ambulance driver suddenly pulled over and rushed to the back of the vehicle, shouting that Bossell had a knife. The driver saw Hoffman and Bossell struggling, and according to the probable cause affidavit obtained by ABC News, Hoffman managed to utter, “She stabbed me in the heart,” before collapsing.
Court records show that Bossell then attempted to drive off in the ambulance but was stopped by a pursuing police officer. During the struggle, Bossell bit the officer’s arm before he was able to subdue her.
Despite immediate life-saving efforts and transport to North Kansas City Hospital, Hoffman succumbed to his injuries. The Kansas City Fire Department confirmed Hoffman’s death, stating he had served with distinction since joining the department in 2022.
Bossell’s history with law enforcement has been published by multiple sources – less than a week before the stabbing, she had been arrested and charged with biting an officer during a separate incident. She was released on bond just days before the attack on Hoffman. She also had been cited recently for a hit-and-run incident involving another vehicle.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas expressed deep concern about the sequence of events leading to Hoffman’s death. “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,” Lucas said in a statement.
Mayor Lucas Responds to First-Degree Murder Charges Filed in Death of KCFD Firefighter pic.twitter.com/YcTPqHNWaT
— Mayor Quinton Lucas (@MayorLucasKC) April 28, 2025
Mayor Lucas also remembered Hoffman as a young public servant with an exceptional future ahead. “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.”
Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson, speaking at a press conference, called the crime “horrific” and pledged to pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law. “Our office will use all legal, moral, and ethical tools at our disposal to ensure justice for Graham, his family and the entire community,” Thompson said. He added that a conviction could lead to life imprisonment without parole or possibly the death penalty, though further prosecutorial decisions have not yet been announced.
Bossell remains jailed on a $1 million bond. No attorney is currently listed for her, and a plea of not guilty was entered during her first court appearance Monday.