Suspect In Murder Of Astoria EMT Identified As Local Man: Police

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Police have identified the suspect accused of fatally stabbing an emergency medical worker in a random attack steps from her Astoria workplace on Thursday.

Peter Zisopoulos, 34, has been charged with murder in connection with the stabbing of Alison Russo-Elling, 61, police said early Friday.

Russo-Elling, a 24-year FDNY employee, was on duty shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday when she 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, authorities said.

The suspect, now identified as Zisopoulos, 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, police 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.

Neighbors told ABC7 that Zisopoulos was a loner who often walked around the block by himself.

Mayor Eric Adams vowed Thursday 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.

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