Key Points
- A paramedic, 29, was fatally stabbed outside a fast-food restaurant in Sydney.
- A 21-year-old man faces murder charges.
- Health officials and colleagues described the incident as 'very difficult to process' and 'incomprehensible'.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of a young ambulance paramedic in Sydney's southwest.
Named by media outlets as Steven Tougher, the 29-year-old father of one was stabbed outside Campbelltown McDonald's while he and a workmate took a break towards the end of their night shift at about 5.30am on Friday.
The colleague activated a duress alarm, sparking a police response in which a younger man wielding a knife was tasered and arrested.
Homicide detectives later charged the 21-year-old man with murder.
He has been refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.
The victim, who had been working for the ambulance service for about a year, was assisted by witnesses at the scene but died shortly after arriving at Liverpool Hospital.
"The surgeons ... worked valiantly, albeit futile in this instance, to support our colleague," NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said.
The slain man's father said his son always wanted to be a paramedic and had just been posted to southwest Sydney, Dr Morgan said.
"I've met with the family and as you can imagine personally, it's very difficult to process."
A GoFundMe page set up on Friday afternoon sought support for the paramedic's partner Madison who is expecting a second child.
"Madison is due to have her second child in a few short weeks," the page description read.
It is understood the couple intended to raise their family in southwestern Sydney after he recently landed a posting in the area.
Healthcare community reeling from shock
Devastated colleagues are mourning Mr Tougher's death, with his stabbing highlighting the dangers of the job.
"Any person just going to work to do their job, let alone a paramedic who puts themselves on the line for the community to not come home is a tragedy," Dr Morgan said.
"I'm told that he was just so pleased that he was going to be able to stay here with his family, bring up his children and look forward to the area that he lived in and loved more than anything."
The safety of emergency service workers was paramount, and the thought of someone not coming home from a shift was almost inconceivable, Dr Morgan said.
"This will (take) a very long time for NSW Ambulance and the broader family to recover from such a traumatic event," he said.
"It's a broader issue, as you can imagine, for all of the colleagues that attended that scene."
Paramedics unions said the "profound tragedy" highlighted how often the work takes place in hostile environments.
"An incident like this only heightens the awareness of the important job that we do," Australian Paramedics Association assistant secretary Brendan McIlveen said.
"We extend our deepest sympathy and support to the family and colleagues of this young paramedic," Health Services Union state secretary Gerard Hayes said.
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce battled tears as she told reporters the health system was one big family and "everything conceivable" would be done to support the paramedic's relatives.
"To lose someone in this way is incomprehensible to us. Our health system has been through a lot over these last three years," she said.
"We're so grateful to the police for their assistance this morning, to the words of condolence that we've received from so many."
The man arrested at the scene remained in custody later on Friday as police reviewed CCTV footage and interviewed witnesses. He had few prior interactions with police, Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.
Detectives were seeking information about a blue Honda Jazz being driven around the Ingleburn and Campbelltown areas before the pre-dawn attack.
Premier Chris Minns said his heart went out to the victim's family and all 4600 paramedics.
"NSW has lost a young paramedic, a young man whose life was in front of him," he told reporters.
"To all paramedics in NSW today who after hearing this news put on their paramedic uniform and serve the people of NSW, thank you for your dedication."
