Ambulance shot at least 17 times while transporting stabbing victim

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - At least 17 bullet holes were found on the Three Rivers Ambulance Authority truck shot while transporting a stabbing victim early Sunday morning.

According to TRAA spokesman Michael Gillespie, an advanced EMT who was in the back of the ambulance during the shooting had bullet fragments embedded in his left elbow, forearm and superficial injuries to his midsection.

The ambulance was driven by a Fort Wayne firefighter to allow the paramedic and EMT to treat the seriously injured victim, 29-year-old Jermaine Loyall.  The firefighter and paramedic were uninjured.

The EMT is doing well but will stay off-duty until he feels ready to return to work, Gillespie said. 

The Fort Wayne Police Department said the ambulance was shot by people traveling in a white passenger car that followed the truck leaving the scene of a stabbing at Piere’s, a nightclub on Saint Joe Road.

The same suspects are accused of shooting three people who were following the ambulance because their friend and family member was the stabbing victim.  Latasha Loyall, 27, Dominic Loyall, 22, and Lashanda Conwell, 31 were hurt seriously when shot riding in the car, according to police.

Police confirmed all incidents were related to the original stabbing at Piere’s which happened during an altercation at the nightclub around 3:00 a.m.

The driver of the ambulance gave police a description of the suspects’ vehicle. 

An officer with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department assisted city crews when he spotted the suspects’ vehicle driving south into downtown Fort Wayne near the Allen County jail.  The officer attempted to pull the vehicle over but it took off in a pursuit lasting several minutes.

Two other Allen County Sheriff’s officers, who were off-duty working security at the time, heard the calls and deployed stop sticks in an area where the suspects’ car was expected to travel.  The vehicle did ultimately hit those stop sticks.

At one point, the car stopped and two occupants jumped out of the backseat and surrendered lying face down on the street.

The remaining suspects were arrested when the pursuit ended by the county officers.

Traneilous Jackson, 24, was arrested on preliminary charges of aggravated battery, criminal recklessness with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.

An 18-year-old, Jakwan Braster faces a charge for minor consuming and Alfonso Chappell, 27, was arrested for resisting law enforcement fleeing vehicle.  A fourth suspect, a minor, was also detained but later released.  All four individuals are from Fort Wayne.