‘Rest easy’: Slain ambo and father identified

A young paramedic who died after he was stabbed as he sat in his own ambulance at a McDonald’s in Sydney’s southwest is being remembered fondly by friends and family

Steven Tougher was nearing the end of his shift and was in the back of the ambulance doing paperwork when his attacker pulled open the sliding door and stabbed him multiple times, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Paramedics raced to Campbelltown McDonald’s at 5.30am on Friday following reports their colleague had been stabbed multiple times.

The victim and one other colleague had been “working hard all night” and were taking a meal break at the McDonald’s when the alleged incident occurred.

The young paramedic’s colleague raised a duress alarm alerting the team that a paramedic needed urgent assistance. He was treated at the scene before being rushed to Liverpool Hospital.

He died there a short time later.

“To not come home from work is a tragedy and almost inconceivable,” NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said.

Commissioner Morgan said he had spoken to the man’s family, who were devastated by the loss.

“I had the privilege of meeting with his mother and father, his wife and sister, who, as you can imagine, are just beside themselves with this tragic loss,” Commissioner Morgan said.

Already having one child, Mr Tougher was due to be a father-of-two, with his wife due to give birth to the pairs second child in just a few weeks.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Mr Tougher’s wife Madison and their children in the wake of his death.

An outpouring of grief for the young paramedic, who’s being remembered as a “beautiful soul”.

“Steven Tougher you sir were truly an angel that lived amongst us and what has happened to you is beyond devastating,” a loved one wrote on social media.

“Mate I know it’s a pretty generic line that’s thrown around a lot in times like these, however in regards to you it’s absolutely on the money.”

Another shared a tribute to Mr Tougher online saying “always and forever”.

“We scrubbed poorly but we scrubbed up alright,” the friend said on social media.

“Rest easy my friend, I will cherish our years and time together and you will be in my heart forever x”

Another friend said that she was “utterly shocked” to hear the news.

“I remember our days as you being a cadet, being that absolute keen bean wanting to take over patients and being involved as much as possible - to finally becoming a nurse and then paramedic as your dream job became true,” she said.

Extensive support is being provided to paramedics, police officers and bystanders who attended the horrific scene, including to the man’s partner who was in the ambulance and called for help.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said a motive for the attack was yet to be identified.

His father said it had been his dream to become a paramedic from the age of five.

He had been working as a paramedic for about 12 months and had only recently been posted back in southwest Sydney where he had plans to start a family with his wife.

“He wanted nothing more than to serve his community, I’m told 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 being in the area he lived in and loved,” Commissioner Morgan said.

Tributes have flown from across the emergency response and healthcare workforce with paramedics sharing messages of support and grief on social media.

“I’d like to extend the deepest condolences to the wife and family of the paramedic,” NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce told reporters as she broke down in tears.

“The health system is one big family and to lose someone in this way is incomprehensible to us.

“Our health system has been through a lot of these past three years, and as the head of the health system, I am proud of every single staff member who, every single day, presents to serve their community and to put themselves on the line for their community.”

“This is very raw, very early and very close to home,” Commissioner Morgan said.

“Being the person that witnessed that, [they] will never ever ever get over as long as [they] live.

“There are no words that can make a person feel better but being together, leaning in to each other, just being together and speaking when you can is the best path forward.”

Deputy Commissioner Lanyon told reporters: “The young man was simply doing his job.”

A 21-year-old man was arrested at the scene and is assisting police with their inquiries at Campbelltown Police Station.

Police allege the man was armed with a knife when they arrived on the scene and a taser was used during his arrest. No charges have been laid.

Police have said the 21-year-old man is known to them.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the stabbing was a “terrible situation” for the entire paramedic fraternity to experience.

“It’s a reminder that’s it a very difficult and dangerous job,” Mr Minns said.

Police are appealing for any member of the public who may have seen a blue Honda Jazz sedan driving in the Ingleburn area before the time of the incident to contact police.

A crime scene has been established and will be forensically examined by specialist officers.

Anyone with information is urged to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.