A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employee vacationing in New York was stabbed in a Macy's bathroom Thursday while changing her 9-month-old daughter's diaper, police said.
The woman and her husband were shopping with their child in Herald Square before stopping at the Macy's restroom on West 34th Street at 3:15 p.m. The homeless woman, identified by police as 43-year-old Kerry Ahern, lunged at her mother in the bathroom, stabbing her multiple times in the back and cutting her arm, NYPD Sgt. Kevin Sheehan said.
The woman's child was not injured. The two women did not know each other and there had been no previous interaction or dispute, Sheehan said.
The victim's husband, who was nearby and heard the noise, rushed into the restroom and held the attacker until police arrived, Sheehan said. The victim's husband is also an LASD employee, according to the department's statement. Their specific roles have not been disclosed.
Paramedics took the woman to Bellevue Hospital, where she was treated and expected to survive, Sheehan said.
The knife used in the attack was found at the scene, police said.
Macy's confirmed the incident in a statement Friday.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident today as the safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority,” a company spokesperson said.
