LOS ANGELES, CA — A 38-year-old woman stabbed in a New York City Macy’s on Thursday while changing her 10-month-old daughter is Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, Patch confirmed.
The unprovoked attack happened at the department store in Herald Square just before 3 p.m.
The woman and her husband — who are both employees of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — were able to successfully disarm the attacker and hold her down until authorities could arrive, LASD confirmed to Patch.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was in stable condition as of Friday.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Office said it was aware of the incident and confirmed that it wasn’t one of their employees involved.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Office is aware of the incident that occurred yesterday in New York.
No Riverside Sheriff’s employees were involved in the assault.
Please contact the New York Police Department for any further details regarding this investigation.
— Riverside County Sheriff (@RSO) December 12, 2025
Meanwhile, the suspect was identified as 43-year-old Kerri Aherne of Massachusetts. She has been charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police reported cited by ABC News.
Macy’s has released the following statement to multiple outlets: “We 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.”
A Herald Square Macy’s customer, Franklin Doman, told CBS News, “We all come in here with families. We don’t know what happens, so, of course, we want more security.”
This is the second assault to be reported at that particular Macy’s in the past month, according to CBS News.
“It’s very scary, for sure. It stinks, but we keep our heads high. We try to pay attention,” Shopper Oscar DeCastro told the news station.