ASTORIA, Queens (WABC) — Family, friends and colleagues will gather to pay their respects to FDNY EMS Lt. Allison Russo-Elling, who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack.
Memorial services for the lieutenant are being held today and Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Commack Abbey Funeral Home in Commack, NY.
Her funeral will be held at the Tilles Center at 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville, NY on Wednesday at 11:00 AM.
She was on duty when she was stabbed Thursday afternoon near her station in the Astoria area of Queens.
Police said Russo-Eling, 61, was walking to the store to get something to eat when Zisapoulos stabbed her multiple times. She was taken to the nearest hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
By Michael Greco, performed over the weekendsaying that no one should fear this kind of attack.
“We have 4,500 FDNY EMS members who are not very good at senseless violence,” Greco said.
Peter Zisopoulos, 34, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the fatal stabbing of Russ-Eling, a nearly 25-year veteran of the city’s fire department who was one of the first responders to World Trade, police announced Friday. September 11, 2001 Center.
Zisapoulos remains at Bellevue Hospital undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. He can be put on trial as early as Monday.
The motive for the stabbings is under investigation.
Russo-Eling joined the fire department as a medic in March 1998 and was promoted to paramedic in 2002 before becoming a lieutenant in 2016.
Russo-Elling’s mother and grandmother lived in Huntington, Long Island, and volunteered at the local EMS.
Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, who joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at a news conference last week, said Russ-Ehling has been recognized repeatedly for her bravery and rescue work.
“And she was an absolute sweetheart on the job,” Kavanaugh said.
Adams, a former police officer whose uniformed service coincided with Russ-Elling’s, said he is very familiar with the work that EMS personnel do.
“Every day they do their job in a way that many of us don’t realize how dangerous it is,” Adams said. “She worked for this city. She made a great sacrifice for that.”
Russo-Eling planned to retire in a few months and spend more time with her family, her union leader said.
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