A New York City judge on Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation for Kerri Aherne, a Massachusetts woman charged in the stabbing of a tourist inside Macy’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The evaluation is intended to determine whether Aherne is fit to stand trial.
Aherne, 43, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and other charges during her arraignment in Manhattan court. Alvin Bragg’s office said the court ordered the examination after the charges were filed.
Manhattan prosecutors said the attack happened around the holidays, on Dec. 11, at the Macy’s store in Herald Square. They said Aherne purchased a knife at the store, went to a seventh-floor bathroom, and began stabbing a woman while she was changing her baby’s diaper.
The victim, a California resident, eventually managed to grab the knife and toss it away, prosecutors said. Aherne was restrained by the victim’s partner and store security until police arrived.
Prosecutors said the woman was stabbed in the back, as well as in the arm and hand. They said the 10-month-old baby fell from the changing table onto the floor during the attack but was not injured.
In court Wednesday, Aherne’s defense attorney, Kevin Sylvan, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, according to the Daily News, but he told the newspaper that the mental state issue was “the only relevant issue right now.” The newspaper also reported that Aherne had been released from a New York psychiatric hospital the morning of the attack and had previously been a patient at a mental health facility in Massachusetts.
Macy’s issued a statement after the stabbing saying it was “deeply saddened” by the attack. In a statement Wednesday, Bragg said, “The thousands of families that visit Manhattan during the holiday season deserve to be safe while shopping and celebrating with their loved ones,” according to his office.
Aherne remains in custody, and her next court date is Feb. 11.