Relatives, friends of knifed Mohamad Omar swamp hospital
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By Gemma Jones
December 16, 2008 12:05pm
THE police riot squad had to control crowds at Westmead Hospital following a fatal stabbing because mourners blocked the path of ambulances.
Dozens of friends and relatives of Mohamad Omar, 24, gathered at the hospital with some on mobile phones threatening revenge, an ambulance officer said yesterday.
Ambulances and officers were forced to use an exit with a broken boom gate to enter and leave the emergency department for several hours from 2am on Sunday.
Ambulance officers said they were delayed attending a cardiac arrest, a person with severe asthma and call-outs to other ill patients.
"The rest of western Sydney suffered for it. There were so many of them, it was scary for us," the ambulance officer told
The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
Paramedics were even asked to verify the identity of patients to ensure none of the mourners gained entry to the hospital where Mr Omar's brother Mahmoud was being treated.
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Relatives, friends of knifed Mohamad Omar swamp hospital | The Daily Telegraph