A woman has been arrested and charged after a tourist was stabbed multiple times inside Macy’s Herald Square, one of New York City’s busiest retail destinations, police said.
The New York City Police Department said officers responded to a 911 call reporting an “assault in progress” at the flagship Macy’s location at around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. When police arrived, they found a 39-year-old woman suffering from multiple stab wounds to her back and a laceration to her left arm.
Macy’s has opened its first small-format store in South Jersey at Centerton Square in Mount Laurel. The retaile, also is preparing a small-format location at a Cherry Hill shopping center, The Marketplace at Garden State Park.
Emergency medical services transported the woman to a nearby hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. The victim was not publicly identified, but local outlets WABC and Fox5 NY described her as a tourist visiting the city.
Police arrested 43-year-old Kerri Aherne of Massachusetts in connection with the attack. According to the NYPD, Aherne has been charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child. Investigators told local media that the stabbing appeared to be unprovoked.
Macy’s acknowledged the incident in a statement, saying the company was “deeply saddened” by what occurred. “The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority,” the retailer said, adding that it would defer further questions to law enforcement.
Shoppers inside the massive 10-floor store described confusion and fear as word of the attack spread. Oscar DeCastro told CBS News he was shopping with his family when a security guard informed them of the stabbing.
“It’s very scary, for sure,” DeCastro said. “It stinks, but we keep our heads high. We try to pay attention.”
Another shopper, Salvadore Tabares, told CBS News that despite the incident, he still viewed the store as generally safe. “I wouldn’t imagine something like that could happen,” he said.
Others said the stabbing underscored growing concerns about security in crowded public spaces. “We all come in here with families,” shopper Franklin Doman told CBS News. “We don’t know what happens, so, of course, we want more security.”
The stabbing marks the second reported assault at Macy’s Herald Square in the past month. According to CBS News, a 71-year-old man was allegedly struck multiple times on the head last month by a woman wielding an object believed to be a cell phone on the ninth floor of the store. The man was treated at a hospital for deep internal bruising.
In that earlier incident, police arrested a 65-year-old woman, identified as Donna Francis, who was charged with assault.
