A rookie EMT with the FDNY who went straight from the academy into a devastating national health crisis was found dead along the East River from a self-inflicted gunshot wound late last week.
The New York Post reports that EMT John Mondello, who was only 23 years old and had been on the job for less than three months, took his own life last Friday at a spot along the East River in Astoria, Queens. His body was spotted by a passerby early that evening on the rocks along the river wall. The Post's report says Mondello killed himself with a weapon registered to his father, a retired NYPD officer.
Mondello graduated from the FDNY's EMS Academy in February and was stationed with the Tactical Response Group next to EMS Station 18 in the Claremont section of the Bronx, which is one of the city's busiest areas for 9-1-1 calls, according to the Post.
“He told me he was experiencing a lot of anxiety witnessing a lot of death, he’d feel it was a heavy experience when he’d fail to save a life,” Mondello's friend Al Javier told the Post.
Anthony Almojera, vice president of the EMS officers’ union, said the devastation wrought by the coronavirus is taking a toll on many of his crew members.
“This is indicative of what we’re all going through,” he said. “ Hopefully people will reach out when they need help and don’t resort to this type of action. There are places to go if people need help."
