Solemn Tribute Paid On LI To EMT Killed: 'You've Given Us Your Mother'

HUNTINGTON, NY — Alison Russo-Elling, an FDNY EMT, Huntington Community First Aid Squad member and 9/11 first responder who was stabbed to death while on the job in Queens on Sept. 29, was honored with an FDNY motorcade on Wednesday.

Services for Russo-Elling, 61, were held in Commack on Monday and Tuesday. She is survived by her daughter and parents.

Peter Zisopoulos, 34, was charged with murder after Russo-Elling was stabbed 19 times, the New York Post reported.

Videos taken by Anthony Frevola show a line of motorcycles and first responder vehicles driving by to honor Russo-Elling.

Russo-Elling joined the Huntington Community First Aid Squad in 1992 and served as day captain for 13 years. During her tenure at HCFAS, she began as an EMT, then obtained her Critical Care and Paramedic certifications.

"She was a dedicated provider and outstanding member, serving on several committees and giving her time wherever it was needed at Huntington Community," the first aid squad wrote on Facebook. "Alison would have celebrated 30 years of service at Huntington Community First Aid Squad in November of this year."

Russo-Elling joined the FDNY as an EMT in March 1998, later being promoted to paramedic in 2002 and lieutenant in 2016, according to an Instagram post by the department.

She was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain at her funeral by acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, ABC 7 reported. Her funeral was held at the Tilles Center in Brookville on Wednesday.

Kavanagh said that the department will continue to honor Russo-Elling by helping and mentoring others as she did, ABC 7 reported.

At the funeral, Mayor Eric Adams addressed her parents, Catherine and Frank Fuoco, as well as her daughter, Danielle.

"You are an American family, I say this over and over again," Adams said, ABC 7 reported. "And what you have contributed, giving us your daughter, you've given us your mother. I cannot thank you enough, it's just my responsibility to keep the city safe. And I feel the weight of that every day."

On Monday, Russo-Elling's parents confronted Adams at the wake to demand he gets control of the high crime rates in the city, the New York Post reported.

“Her mom and dad just took the mayor on,” Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy told The Post.

Frank and Catherine Fuocco challenged Adams, with Catherine telling Adams he should know how to lower the city's crime rates given he was a police officer for 30 years, Kennedy told the New York Post.

During the Sept. 11 attacks, she aided in rescue and recovery efforts, according to the FDNY. Over the course of her career, she worked in at least five other stations before landing at Station 49 in Astoria.

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