EDWARDSVILLE ? An emergency medical technician and a paramedic were shot and killed early Saturday in an apparent ambush, authorities said. The body of the paramedic’s ex-husband was discovered later in Lee’s Summit, Mo., where he apparently committed suicide.

The victims were identified as emergency medical technician Tye Brown, a 31-year-old father of two, and paramedic Katherine Malone, 30. They were found dead at an Edwardsville fire station shortly after midnight, said Eric Dooley, a spokesman for Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, an ambulance service for the two-state Kansas City area.

Kansas City, Kan., police Capt. John Cosgrove said the pair, who were living together in nearby Johnson County, had been shot multiple times.

Cosgrove said police had obtained a warrant on two counts of first-degree murder for Malone’s ex-husband, Mathew Bass, 37, of Johnson County.

Police confirmed Saturday night that Bass had committed suicide about 7 a.m. Saturday in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit, Mo. He had been charged Saturday morning before his body was positively identified.

Malone had obtained a protection order against Bass, Cosgrove said.

‘Murdered in the station’

The deaths of Malone and Brown marked the first time a MAST worker was killed on duty, Dooley said.

“They were good hard-working employees,” he said. “They appeared to enjoy what they did. It’s really kind of hard to talk about this.”

The two were the only staffers overnight at the fire station in Edwardsville, a Wyandotte County suburb with about 4,500 residents about 25 miles east of Lawrence. Dooley said the pair had recently returned from a call when they were paged to respond to another incident.

When they failed to respond, and a dispatcher was unable to contact them by radio or telephone, authorities were sent to the fire station, Dooley said.

“They went in and found both crew members murdered in the station,” Dooley said.

The slain EMT’s brother, Devlin Brown, said he talked to his brother after MAST paramedic Mary Seymour was shot in February after arriving at the scene of a fire and explosion in south Kansas City, Mo.

Shot twice in the chest, Seymour, 39, was released from the hospital a few days later and is expected to make a full recovery.

“He worried about me,” said Devlin Brown, a firefighter in Kansas City, Kan. “I never worried about him.”

‘A great crew’

Butch LeRoy, a night field supervisor for MAST, described Malone as energetic and always willing to spend extra time comforting a patient. Tye Brown, he said, was obsessed with making sure the ambulance was spotless.

“They were just a great crew to run with,” he said.

The two were known for their dedication to long hours on duty. They would spend as many as 56 hours a week at the station, sometimes working 24-hour shifts, said Jim Befort, a Kansas City, Kan., firefighter who had worked with the pair.

Outside work, Brown was an avid fisherman; Malone, an animal-lover, said LeRoy, who started with MAST as a field medic 18 years ago. Brown had returned from duty in Kuwait as a combat medic for the National Guard only about a year ago.

A Ford Taurus with personalized license plates reading “P MEDIC” was parked inside the fire station late Saturday morning. The station is located on the edge of the Kansas City area, near Kansas Speedway in southwestern Wyandotte County; behind the station, several head of cattle grazed in a field.

“I’m shocked, because this is just not that type of a neighborhood,” said Edith Leihsing, who lives next to the station.

Flags at stations throughout the department were lowered to half-staff, Edwardsville firefighter Ed Lynn said.

“I think it’s unreal,” Lynn said. “Devastating for one, for the families for sure.”

Although MAST medics have access to bullet-proof vests, neither Brown, Malone, nor Seymore was wearing one at the time they were shot. For the time being, the company will continue to allow their use to be optional. LeRoy said Saturday’s deaths might have been difficult to prevent because of the crime’s apparent personal nature.

“But until the investigative process is done, then we’ll look at stuff differently,” said LeRoy, who wore a black mourning band over his badge. “We’ll have to re-evaluate and see what comes of it.”

LeRoy arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the crime happened. Even as emergency crews were dealing with a blow to two of their own, LeRoy left to answer another call. Instead of milling about where he couldn’t provide help, he said, it was time to return to the city to continue saving the lives of others.

Saturday afternoon, about 17 hours later, LeRoy sat quietly in a company vehicle outside the scene at Station No. 2. He hadn’t slept. And this was the first time he’d seen the blood-stained pavement in daylight.

“It really takes your breath away,” he said.

Funeral arrangements were pending.