NEW YORK CITY — A woman described by authorities as apparently emotionally disturbed was shot and killed by New York City police Monday afternoon after she allegedly stabbed two people in Times Square during what officials called a “random and unprovoked” attack.
One of the victims, 32-year-old Erin Piacenti of Chester, New Jersey, later died at a hospital, the NYPD said. Piacenti was an employee at Bank of America, which said in a statement that it was “shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” adding that “our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.”
According to a GoFundMe page, Piacenti and her husband had welcomed a baby girl just five months ago. Monday marked her first day back at work following maternity leave.
Piacenti and her husband were both 2021 graduates of Fordham Law School, school officials said. In a statement, the university said it was “heartbroken to learn of the tragic and senseless loss of our alumna.”
The second victim, a 68-year-old man visiting from Rhode Island, was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Officials said he is now listed in stable condition.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the two stabbings unfolded within roughly 20 seconds of each other near 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, in the heart of the Times Square area.
The 68-year-old man had just come out of the subway and was standing with his wife as they waited to cross the street when the suspect allegedly took two knives from a bag, brandished them and stabbed him in the abdomen “in what appears to be a random and unprovoked attack,” Tisch said during a news briefing.
Tisch said the suspect then continued north on Seventh Avenue toward 42nd Street, where she encountered the second victim and allegedly stabbed her in the abdomen in another apparently random and unprovoked assault.
The suspect allegedly then fled north toward the NYPD substation, authorities said. Witnesses flagged down officers who confronted her for four minutes and “gave her numerous commands to drop the knife,” which she refused, Tisch said.”
During the encounter, she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.’ She repeated, ‘I will kill you,'” Tisch said.
Officers deployed Tasers before two officers discharged their service weapons, Tisch said.
The suspect, identified by police as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, was pronounced dead at a hospital. She had a “documented mental health history,” Tisch said. Police officials stressed the woman appears emotionally disturbed and the incident is not terror-related.
Two knives were recovered from the scene.
“I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during the press briefing. “This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe.”
The NYPD will conduct an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage will be released to the public, the mayor said.
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