A New York Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) took his own life less than three months working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.
23-year-old John Mondello’s used a weapon that belonged to his retired NYPD father, in Queens last Friday.
A passerby discovered the body a little after 6.45 pm laying on river rocks near Shore Boulevard, Astoria.
The EMT’s passing comes after he talked about having a difficult time dealing with patients who were on the verge of death from COVID-19, according to the New York Post.
John was part of the Tactical Response Group caring for locations with the highest rates of emergency calls in the area.
New York’s confirmed coronavirus cases have reached almost 300,000 with 22,275 deaths.
There are 987,322 confirmed cases in total in the United States with 55,415 losses of life.
John Mondello graduated at FDNY’s EMS Academy last February, according to the New York Post.
Eventually, he started working for the Tactical Response Group near EMS Station 18 in Claremont. It is one of the busiest areas by 911 call numbers throughout the five boroughs.
RIP EMT John Mondello pic.twitter.com/6jTHQyNV4W
— FDNYfootball (@FDNYFootball) April 25, 2020
The FDNY football paid their respects with a tweet saying “RIP EMT John Mondello” last Saturday, along with a picture of John.
According to Anthony Almojera, vice president of the EMS officers’ union, employees are struggling immensely with the consequences of the pandemic.
“This is indicative of what we’re all going through”
“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.”
EMT and @FDNY stand united at funeral for John Mondello @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/d9qsgn0PsE
— Kristen Dudek (@KristenDudek) April 26, 2020
A colleague of John’s told him that “everything was going to get better.”
They talked about how everyone was stressed out and having a hard time coping with the situation.
The co-worker said they discussed the ‘chaos’ and bearing witness to ‘people passing away right in front of you.’
‘We don’t have the same union benefits as other city workers. It’s really stressful to work long hours and not get paid as much,’ the co-worker added.
Another one of John’s co-workers talked about the consequences of seeing so much suffering.
“He’d feel it was a heavy experience when he’d fail to save a life,’ Al Javier told the New York Post.
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