Hundreds of colleagues, family and friends filled a concert hall on Long Island Wednesday to mourn the 61-year-old veteran EMS member, World Trade Center first responder and mother who was stabbed to death in a gruesome act of random violence on a Queens sidewalk last week.
Alison Russo's family, including her parents, were in the front row at the Tilles Center for Performing Arts in Brookville -- and her father, stalwart in his grief, minced no words. He says he saw the surveillance video of her killing.
"I couldn't hear her cry out, 'Mom, Dad, help,'" he said, his voice cracking. "That man murdered my daughter. He killed her and tore a hole in our hearts and all of her colleagues. That man murdered my daughter and she would be the first one to come to his aid if he ever needed her help. He left her lying in the street like a ragdoll that was just discarded."
Russo's father spoke of her lifetime devotion to give medical aid to the sick, injured and cardiac arrest patients -- her commitment to rescue transcended humans and she saved dogs, too, he said, calling her "such a beautiful person." He said he hoped that, over time, the memories of her kindness would help fill the gaping void in so many hearts.
Yet still, as his son, Russo's younger brother by 10 years said as he fought back tears, "My family will never be the same."
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Nor will the city of New York, Mayor Eric Adams and Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh pledged.
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Waves of FDNY members in full uniform flanked the street in somber salute as dreary rain fell outside the hall, where Russo's casket was escorted behind a police escort and bagpipe procession.
An ambulance, not a hearse, carried her casket to the hall in fitting yet heartrending tribute to her decades of service with the FDNY. Taps played as nine pallbearers lifted her flag-draped coffin from the back of the vehicle and carried it slowly past the mourners, many of whom held their hands over their hearts as others wiped away tears.
Russo was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain during the service, where her grieving parents were sitting in the first row next to their granddaughter. Mayor Adams addressed them directly.
"You’ve given us your daughter. You’ve given us your mother. There are no words that can define parents losing their children. There’s nothing more unnatural than that," Adams said. "This is a dark moment for us. We want people to know what a brave hero your mom and your daughter was. My heart goes out to you, not as a mayor, not as an elected official, but as a son of the city and a person, a human being. I am so sorry."
The 25-year EMS member was stabbed more than 20 times in an unprovoked, come-from-behind attack when she went to get food by her Astoria stationhouse on Sept. 29. Her accused killer has a history of mental illness and lives near the station where Russo spent so many years serving the community.
Kavanaugh said Russo "exemplified the best of our best," answering more than 25,000 911 calls throughout her career and still finding time to volunteer, mentor and be "the friend you would call if you were struggling at home."
"The unspeakable manner in which Lt. Russo was taken from us has left a tremendous hole in our hearts, but I know one thing, our department, our city, all of EMS, is better for having Lt. Russo in it," Kavanaugh said as she promoted her. "Captain Russo so clearly embodied the mission, the intent, the essence of being EMS. She ran toward the danger."
As Chief of the Bureau of EMS Lillian Bonsignore aptly put it, "She was unstoppable."
"We will never forget your mom, your daughter, your sister -- Captain Alison Russo," Bonsignore added -- and urged her thousands of EMS colleagues to always let their sirens sing for her.
See the full funeral for Alison Russo in the player below.
A memorial outside her Astoria stationhouse has only grown in the days since the attack. Mourners paid tribute there last week with bagpipes and a moment of silence, a somber eloquent tribute to the woman officials say embodied EMS' moniker of New York's Best. Neighbors left flowers at the corner of 20th Street and Steinway, where Russo was killed.
There were also remembrances at the Volunteer Ambulance Squad, where Russo served on her days off. Neighbors said she loved outdoor activities, but talked most about her job with the FDNY EMS.
Russo leaves behind a daughter, Danielle Fuoco, who laid out the best way to honor her mother.
"Any hate in your heart from this calamity, I need you to remove that. I need you to replace it with love," Fuoco said.
Russo served with EMS for 25 years -- and was among those who raced into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
“She was a hero then, she's a hero now,” said Adams.
The 61-year-old was "cited multiple times for her bravery and her life-saving work, and she was absolutely beloved on this job," Kavanaugh added. She and Adams stood by the family before mourners moved inside Wednesday.
Adams had gone to the hospital where Russo was taken after the attack, saying, "We lost one of our heroes. She was working for this city, and paid the ultimate sacrifice because of that."
Russo was the 1,158th member of the FDNY to die in the line of duty, and the second EMS to die in the line of duty in the last five years.
Peter Zisopoulos, the 34-year-old Queens man accused of stabbing Russo, did not speak to reporters after he was taken into custody. He was brought to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and has documented history of schizophrenia, which is how he's connected to the stationhouse where Russo worked.
The last time he was hospitalized, he was transported by members of the very same station.
Zisopoulos ran away after the stabbing -- but two witnesses knew him, and one of them chased him into his 41st Street building, police said. He barricaded himself in his third-floor apartment for about 90 minutes before he was eventually coaxed out without further incident, police officials said.
He has been charged with murder and weapon possession in the case and had no prior criminal history.
Attorney information for Zisopoulos wasn't clear.
