Funeral arrangements set for slain FDNY EMS Lt. Alison Russo-Elling

FDNY EMS Lt. Alison Russo-Elling served the city for 25 years. She was a World Trade Center first responder.
Saturday, October 1, 2022
ASTORIA, Queens (WABC) -- Funeral arrangements have been made for FDNY EMS Alison Russo-Elling, who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack.

The viewing will be held Monday and Tuesday (2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at Commack Abbey Funeral Home in Commack, New York.
[Ads /]
Russo-Elling's funeral will be held the Tilles Center at 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, New York on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.



The Yankees held a moment of silence before Saturday's game in memory of Russo-Elling.



She was on duty when she was stabbed Thursday afternoon near her station in the Astoria section of Queens, authorities said.



The 61-year-old Russo-Elling was heading to a corner store to get something to eat when Zisopoulos allegedly stabbed her multiple times, police said. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police announced Friday that Peter Zisopoulos, 34, was being charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the fatal stabbing of Russo-Elling, a nearly 25-year veteran of the city's fire department who was among the first responders to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
[Ads /]
The motive for the stabbing is under investigation.

Russo-Elling joined the fire department as an EMT in March 1998 and was promoted to paramedic in 2002 before becoming a lieutenant in 2016.

A mother and grandmother, Russo-Elling lived in Huntington on Long Island and had volunteered with the local ambulance corps there.



Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, who joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at a news conference Thursday, said Russo-Elling was cited multiple times for bravery and life-saving work.

"And she was absolutely beloved on this job," Kavanagh said.
[Ads /]
Adams, a former police officer whose service in uniform overlapped with Russo-Elling's, said he is very familiar with the work that EMS workers perform.

"Every day, they do their job in a manner in which many of us don't realize how dangerous it is," Adams said. "She was working for this city. She paid the ultimate sacrifice because of that."

Russo-Elling was planning to retire in a few months and spend more time with her family, the head of her union said.

----------
* More Queens news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.