FDNY EMS Lt. Allison Russo-Elling.Photo: FDNY
A “beloved” EMS lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department was stabbed to death in broad daylight Thursday in an unprovoked attack while she walking down the street in Queens, N.Y., say authorities.
“He stabbed her numerous times about her body,” he said about Russo-Elling, who was one of the first responders at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
The brutal stabbing was a “barbaric and completely unprovoked attack,” FDNY Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at the press conference.
“Members of EMS serve only to help and save other people’s lives,” Kavanagh said. “To be attacked and killed in the course of helping others is both heartbreaking and enraging for our department in ways I cannot describe.”
Peter Zisopoulos.NYPD
A hostage negotiating team talked him out of the apartment, Essig said. He was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
It is unclear whether he has entered a plea or hired an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Russo-Elling was rushed to Mt. Sinai Queens Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, Essig said.
As police continue to investigate, Russo-Elling’s family, friends and colleagues are mourning her loss and remembering someone who “exemplified FDNY EMS,” Kavanagh said at the press conference.
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Russo-Elling served the city for 25 years, Kavanaugh noted. “She was a World Trade Center first responder,” she said. “She was cited multiple times for her bravery and her life-saving work. And she was absolutely beloved on this job.”
Mayor Eric Adams said, “Our hearts go out to the family, her colleagues and the city of New York. We lost one of our heroes.”
Russo-Elling joined the FDNY in 1998, according to a statement from Kavanaugh and Adams. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2016.
The men in her unit were like her sons, her longtime friend, Jackie Gardiner, toldABC 7 Eyewitness News.
“She loved the job,” Gardiner said. “She loved working in Astoria. She enjoyed what she did. She loved all the other guys under her. She used to call [them] her kids and she was a happy person.”
“We stand together with her family and her colleagues in mourning during this incredibly painful time,” said Kavanaugh.
source: people.com
