Man charged with murder after stabbing FDNY EMT: cops

The maniac who allegedly stabbed FDNY EMT veteran Lt. Alison Russo-Elling to death in an unprovoked attack in Queens has been charged with murder, police said Friday.

Peter Zisopoulous, 34, also faces a weapons possession charge in connection with the senseless attack on the 61-year-old EMT, who was stabbed more than 20 times at 20th Avenue and 41st Street in Astoria around 2:20 p.m. Thursday, police said. .

Zisopoulous followed Russo-Elling before tackling, mounting and stabbing her relentlessly, according to law enforcement sources and sickening video of the deadly attack.

A witness confronted the madman, but he scolded, « Fk you, fk you! » before moving away from his victim and charging the pedestrian on a scooter while still clutching the knife, police sources said.

The victim – whose injuries included a deep and fatal wound to the chest – remained unresponsive on the ground after his unresponsive attacker fled, sources and the video said.

He was arrested after being chased by a Good Samaritan and barricaded himself in his apartment next door, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Thursday.

The police were able to talk to him and take him into custody on the third floor of the apartment.

Russo-Elling had been out looking for food when Zisopoulous allegedly stabbed her in what authorities said was a random and completely unprovoked attack.

« At this stage of the investigation, there does not appear to have been any prior contact between them, » an FDNY source said. « He just walked towards her, sped up and then stabbed her to death. »

Russo-Elling – a 25-year veteran who was a World Trade Center responder on September 11, 2001 – was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition but could not be saved, the agency said. police.

She « was about six or seven months away from retirement, » Local 3621 president Vincent Variale told reporters outside the hospital where Russo-Elling died of her injuries. « She was talking about it »

Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh called Russo-Elling’s death « heartbreaking, » adding that she was stabbed in a « barbaric and totally unprovoked attack. »

« We have lost one of our heroes, » Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing.

Russo-Elling worked out of Station 49 in Astoria and lived on Long Island.

She joined the FDNY as an EMT in March 1998 and was promoted to paramedic in 2002 before becoming a lieutenant in 2016. She has worked at numerous EMS stations throughout her career, including Station 20, Station 17, Station 16, Station 45, Queens. Tactical Response Group and Station 49.