‘Vicious’ attack killed 9/11 first responder, official says. NY man convicted

A man convicted of stabbing and killing a woman who saved “countless lives” as an emergency medical services employee in New York City could spend the rest of his life in prison, a district attorney said.

New York City Fire Department Lt. Alison Russo was in uniform, working, when Peter Zisopoulos raced toward her from his apartment building and started stabbing her with a kitchen knife in September 2022, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office.

Despite efforts to save her life, Russo ultimately died at age 61 from the unprovoked and “vicious” attack in Astoria, a neighborhood of Queens, the office said in a May 19 news release. She was a 24-year veteran of the FDNY EMS.

Earlier in her career, Russo was a first responder during the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a national trade union for public workers.

Now, a jury has found Zisopoulus, 37, of Astoria, guilty of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to the district attorney’s office.

One of his defense attorneys, Jonathan Latimer, had argued in court that Zisopoulus was not “astute” and didn’t have an awareness of the alleged crime or the murder charge against him, The New York Times reported.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to what happened,” Latimer said, according to the newspaper. “Just a wild, random, vicious situation for which there is no explanation.”

Zisopoulus stabbed Russo in her stomach and chest, striking her liver, lungs and heart, after she had left her EMS stationhouse in Astoria, according to prosecutors.

Russo, who also volunteered with an ambulance company on Long Island, “cared deeply for the people of New York,” Katz said in a statement, in which she added that New York City is “still in mourning” for her.

“I hope this conviction brings Alison’s family, friends and coworkers solace as we continue to grieve her loss.”

Zisopoulous is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, according to Katz’s office.

This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 4:04 PM with the headline "‘Vicious’ attack killed 9/11 first responder, official says. NY man convicted."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.