DA: Woman charged with stabbing EMT may be connected to MV bomb threat

BOSTON — A Boston woman accused of stabbing an emergency medical technician several times inside an ambulance might be connected to a bomb threat made to the Martha's Vineyard Airport earlier this week.

Julie Tejeda, 31, appeared in Boston Municipal Court on Thursday morning to be arraigned on a series of charges.

Tejeda is also accused of pepper-spraying another EMT on Wednesday afternoon.

The EMT who was stabbed was released from Massachusetts General Hospital on Thursday "and will continue her recovery at home," a spokeswoman for Boston EMS said in a statement.

"When I did speak to her husband, he told me she was awake, she was alert, she's recovering, but he did say she's in a bit of pain today and they're trying to address that," said Chief of Boston Emergency Medical Services James Hooley.

Boston EMS has not identified the EMT who was stabbed.

The Suffolk County District Attorney said that investigators are looking into the possibility that Tejeda was also responsible for making a bomb threat at Martha's Vineyard Airport and in Washington D.C.

The bomb threat made to the Martha's Vineyard Airport forced it to close down for a couple of hours on Tuesday morning.

Suffolk County DA Rachel Rollins says Boston Police questioned Tejeda in East Boston on Tuesday, the night before the EMT attack, but Tejeda was not arrested.

Surveillance video shows police officers going into Tejada's apartment on that night.

"If there's something we could have done differently, that's something I absolutely want to know," said DA Rollins.

"I can tell you I've had conversations with [Boston Police] Commissioner [William] Gross, the District Attorney in the Cape and Islands as well as members of the State Police [...] We will absolutely be looking into how many encounters law enforcement had with this individual prior to this tragedy occurring."

A number of colleagues of the female EMT, who suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover, showed up en masse at the courthouse.

According to a prosecutor, Tejeda stabbed the EMT seven times, just missing her femoral artery. The victim is said to be "doing well."

According to the police report, a "black folding-style knife" along with a "black canister of OC spray" were found at the scene.

Chief Hooley says the ambulance had been transporting an "emotionally disturbed" patient to the hospital when the person attacked the responder.

In court, a doctor who evaluated Tejeda said she was "awake and alert, totally cooperative" saying she "does have some history of mental health treatment [and that] she stopped her medication and treatment about three months ago."

The Suffolk District Attorney's office says Tejeda will answer to charges including assault with intent to murder.

The police report shows officers found Tejeda "sitting upright on the gurney inside the ambulance with her legs crossed and smiling." Tejeda allegedly told police "it was me, I did it, I stabbed her."

The police report also shows Tejeda allegedly told police that "the EMT was forcing [her] to go to the hospital, so [she] attacked [the EMT] because she was making [her] feel uncomfortable."

In the doctor's opinion, Tejeda should be evaluated further and is not competent at this time.

Tejeda will be held without bail, according to the judge.

"The public needs to hear that this individual, irrespective of any mental health issues, will not be harming anyone, certainly for the next twenty days," said DA Rollins.

Tejeda was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Her next hearing is set for July 31.

The Boston Herald reports that several lawmakers on Beacon Hill are supporting legislation that would make it a felony to assault an EMT or health care provider.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the EMTs who were attacked.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report

Cox Media Group