{"id":69839,"date":"2025-12-13T16:07:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69839\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T16:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:07:29","slug":"tourist-stabbed-while-changing-baby-in-macys-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69839\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist stabbed while changing baby in Macy’s New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tourist was stabbed multiple times while changing her baby\u2019s diaper inside a bathroom at Macy\u2019s flagship store in New York<\/a> City on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) spokesperson told Newsweek on behalf of the New York Police Department (NYPD<\/a>) on Saturday that “at approximately 1514 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress inside of 151 West 34 Street (Macy’s) within the confines of the Midtown South Precinct.<\/p>\n

“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female with multiple stab wounds to her back and a laceration to her left arm. EMS responded and transported the victim to NYC Health and Hospitals\/Bellevue in stable condition.”<\/p>\n

The spokesperson added that a suspect had been arrested and charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

The violent, unprovoked stabbing<\/a> inside Macy’s Herald Square flagship store<\/a> has reignited concerns over public safety, the treatment and monitoring of individuals with severe psychiatric histories, and preventive measures in high-traffic urban retail spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The suspect, 43-year-old Kerri Aherne\u2014recently released from a psychiatric facility and with a record of threatening public figures\u2014was able to purchase a knife inside the store moments before the attack, highlighting weaknesses in the intersection of mental health systems and public safety protocols.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The attack also comes during peak holiday season in one of America\u2019s most visited shopping locations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"What To Know<\/p>\n

The suspect appeared in court on Friday night and was ordered to be held without bail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that Aherne of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, stabbed a 39-year-old California woman who was changing her infant daughter’s diaper in a seventh-floor restroom at Macy’s<\/a> Herald Square in Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aherne told authorities she had purchased a knife inside Macy\u2019s moments before committing the attack because voices in her head had told her to kill someone or she would be killed, local news station ABC7NY reported.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The victim\u2014who was visiting New York with her husband, both of whom are Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees\u2014sustained stab wounds to the back and left arm but was taken to a hospital in stable condition and is expected to recover.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her 10-month-old daughter was uninjured, though she fell from the changing table during the assault.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The victim and her husband restrained Aherne until store security and police<\/a> arrived.<\/p>\n

According to prosecutors, Aherne, who has a history of psychiatric commitments, had been discharged that morning from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, where she had received inpatient treatment for over a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Authorities have also said that in 2018 Aherne was arrested for threatening Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts via a Facebook post, stating she wanted to kill the senior politician.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aherne left Massachusetts last year while on temporary release from a hospital, expressing a preference for prison over hospitalization. She does not have prior arrests in New York and is believed to be homeless, officials said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What People Are Saying<\/p>\n

A Macy’s spokesperson said: \u201cWe are deeply saddened about the incident that took place today as the safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority. We kindly defer any further questions to the local authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oscar DeCastro, in the store with his family during the attack, said, per CBS News: \u201cIt\u2019s very scary, for sure. It stinks, but we keep our heads high. We try to pay attention.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fellow shopper Salvadore Tabares said, per CBS News: \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty safe environment. I wouldn\u2019t imagine something like that could happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Franklin Doman, another shopper, said, per CBS News: \u201cWe all come in here with families. We don’t know what happens, so, of course, we want more security.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Happens Next?<\/p>\n

Aherne\u2019s next court date is set for December 17. If convicted of the top charge of attempted murder, she could face up to 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Update, 12\/13\/15, 10:42 a.m. E.T. This article was updated with a DCPI statement on behalf of the NYPD. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tourist was stabbed multiple times while changing her baby\u2019s diaper inside a bathroom at Macy\u2019s flagship store…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[303,27044,9,11,10,103,104,260],"class_list":["post-69839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-crime","tag-macys","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-nypd","tag-police","tag-stabbing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}