FDNY veteran killed in "barbaric and completely unprovoked" New York City stabbing

This veteran of the FDNY, who was a first responder on 9/11, was 6 months away from retirement

A suspect has been arrested but his name and description have not been released to the public

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A longtime veteran with the New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services was fatally stabbed Thursday in an unprovoked attack during her lunch break, police said. A suspect has been taken into custody.

Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, a 25-year FDNY EMS veteran, was stabbed multiple times Thursday afternoon while on duty in Queens, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference.

The 61-year-old was rushed to a hospital in Queens, where she died from her injuries, Adams said.

Russo-Elling was getting food during her break, while wearing clothes that clearly indicated she was a member of FDNY, when a 34-year-old man brandished a knife and stabbed her multiple times, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.

Two people who know the perpetrator witnessed the attack, and one of them chased him into his third floor residence, where he barricaded himself, Essig said. The suspect was talked out of the apartment by members of a hostage negotiating team and taken into custody. His name was not immediately released.

Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh called the attack on Russo-Elling — who served as a World Trade Center first responder on 9/11 — "barbaric and completely unprovoked."

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