Queens mechanic says he confronted man accused of murdering FDNY EMS Lt. Alison Russo after seeing bloody knife
NEW YORK -- For the first time, we're hearing from the man who came face to face with the man accused of murdering FDNY EMT Lt. Alison Russo.
The mechanic who confronted the suspect after seeing his bloody knife shared his story Monday with CBS2's Tim McNicholas.
A growing tribute to Russo sits just steps away from Peppy's Auto Repair. Janki Oomraw, the shop's owner, said he still has trouble sleeping because of what he witnessed.
"I got vision of it all night, every day," said Oomraw.
Oomraw was working in his shop on Sept. 29 when he heard someone yelling. He looked outside and saw a man on a scooter.
"He was yelling 'Hey, somebody's getting stabbed or killed!'" said Oomraw.
Then, Oomraw saw the suspect, Peter Zisopoulos, running after the scooter-rider with a knife. It's shown in a surveillance image from the repair shop.
The man on the scooter, Jimmy Orsaris, recounted that terrifying moment with CBS2 the day after the attack.
"Obviously I take off. I mean, I have a knife on me too, but what, am I going to have a knife battle with this guy? This guy wasn't ... he wasn't there," said Orsaris.
Additional surveillance images show what happened next - the moment Oomraw stepped outside and confronted Zisopoulos.
"I saw the blood on his hand and a knife in his hand. And I asked him, I said, 'Hey, what the f*** did you do bro?'" said Oomraw. "And he just ignored me and just keep on walking. And after that, I follow him to see where he's going."
Oomraw, as he followed Zisopoulos down the street, said he discovered Russo wounded on the ground. He could tell by her clothes she was an EMT.
"I said 'Wait, wait. I'm gonna get help.' That's when I went after him," said Oomraw. "He actually walked very fast and he went into the building next to me and went upstairs."
Oomraw said he saw someone he knew, shouted for them to call 911 and ran to the nearby EMS station to let them know their coworker was attacked.
They rushed to the scene and did everything they could to try to save Russo's life.
"Every day I gotta picture it in my head. And I gotta live with it," said Oomraw.
Sources said Zisopoulos is undergoing mental health evaluations at a hospital. There's not been word on when he'll be in court to face charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon.