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EMS response time questioned in death of shooting victim

Crews had to wait for police to arrive and determine the scene safe at the domestic shooting

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — An EMS department is under fire after officials found that it took 16 minutes before emergency crews helped a shooting victim.

WSOCtv.com reported that paramedics took Lacey West to a hospital, where she later died. Police said her boyfriend shot her with a revolver in the bedroom of her home. EMS director Mark Lamphiear said it took crews six minutes to get to the area, but they had to stay back.

“It’s a matter of safety for the paramedics,” Lamphiear said. “Cherryville district one is a broad area, but our average response time is about 10 minutes in that area.”

The 911 call came in at 9:41 p.m. EMS was dispatched a minute later and reached the staging area at 9:48 p.m. The first officer arrived at 9:56 p.m. and cleared paramedics to enter one minute later. A supervisor for the region said a 12-minute response time is fast considering the distance the officer had to travel, according to the report.

Officials said in West’s case a quicker response may not have changed the outcome.