Astoria EMS Lieutenant Randomly Stabbed To Death On The Job: Police

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A Fire Department EMS worker was randomly stabbed to death steps from her Astoria work station on Thursday, authorities said.

Alison Russo-Elling, 61, a 24-year department veteran who had served as a first responder in the Sept. 11 attacks, was attacked while on duty shortly after 2 p.m., police said. She had just left EMS Station 49 to get food, wearing clothing that clearly identified her as a paramedic, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters during a news conference.

At the corner of 20th Avenue and 41st Street, a half-block from the EMS station, a 34-year-old man brandishing a knife "viciously attacked" Russo-Elling, stabbing her numerous times across her body, Essig said.

She was rushed to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital, but could not be saved, Mayor Eric Adams said.

"Our hearts go out to her family, her colleagues and the city of New York, who lost one of our heroes," Adams said.

The suspect, who has not been identified, fled the scene after the stabbing and ran into his third-floor apartment at 19-80 41st St., about a block away, Essig said.

He was chased by two eyewitnesses who knew him, but barricaded himself inside the apartment, Essig said. A hostage negotiating team and the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit eventually coaxed the man out of the apartment, and he was being held in custody at the NYPD's 114th Precinct Thursday afternoon, police said.

Adams vowed that the assailant would be "held accountable for his actions."

Russo-Elling joined the FDNY as an EMT in March 1998, later being promoted to paramedic in 2002 and lieutenant in 2016, according to an Instagram post by the department.

During the Sept. 11 attacks, she aided in rescue and recovery efforts, according to the FDNY. Over the course of her career, she worked in at least five other stations before landing at Station 49 in Astoria.

A Long Island resident, Russo-Elling is survived by her daughter and parents, the FDNY said.

Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh called it a "barbaric and completely unprovoked attack," noting that Russo-Elling had been "cited multiple times for her bravery and lifesaving work."

"To be attacked and killed in the course of helping others is both heartbreaking and enraging for our department," she said.