Gondomar, Portugal, April 20, 2025 (Lusa) - An ambulance worker from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) was assaulted and suffered facial trauma during an emergency on Saturday night in the municipality of Gondomar, in the district of Porto, it said on Sunday.

In a post on the social network Facebook, INEM said that a pre-hospital emergency technician working on the Gondomar immediate life support ambulance "was the victim of aggression" and the rest of the team, the SIV and the Gondomar Fire Brigade, "were the target of threats".

Contacted by Lusa, the Porto Metropolitan Command of the PSP said that the aggressor had been identified and that he was the victim for whom medical assistance had been called.

The PSP drew up a police report and referred the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The technician, who suffered facial trauma, was taken for observation at Santo António Hospital in Porto.

"INEM deeply regrets this incident and said that the work of all professionals dedicated to pre-hospital emergencies must be respected, supported and defended," in the publication.

Defending that professionals "give each mission their best", INEM considers what happened to be "absolutely unacceptable".

"INEM will activate all the legal means at its disposal to defend and protect its professionals," it added.

The incident occurred a day after the law came into force that increases the penalties for those who assault police officers, prison guards and firefighters and extends the exemption from paying legal costs to assaulted teachers and doctors.

According to this law, any health and education worker is now included in the list of professionals against whom aggression is likely to "reveal special reprehensibility or perversity" and can be considered a qualified offence against physical integrity.

SPC/ADB // ADB.

Lusa