Category: News
A Bank of America vice president died after being stabbed in Times Square, while NYPD officers fatally shot the alleged attacker following a confrontation that involved repeated commands, two failed Taser deployments and an advance toward police, authorities said.
The incident unfolded Sept. 1 near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, one of Manhattan’s busiest pedestrian corridors and a heavily policed area that draws visitors, commuters, theatergoers and workers throughout the day.
Police identified the suspect as Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens, and said she was armed with two knives. Officers later recovered both weapons, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
What happened in Times Square
Investigators said Cisneros began threatening people at approximately 4:26 p.m. near a subway entrance. The first person attacked was a 68-year-old man who had just exited the subway and was waiting to cross the street with his wife.
According to the police account, Cisneros pulled two knives from a shopping bag and stabbed the man in the abdomen in what officials described as a random and unprovoked attack.
The suspect then moved north toward Seventh Avenue and approached Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America employee who was walking through the area. Piacenti was stabbed in the abdomen shortly afterward, police said.
Both victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital. The 68-year-old man was later released, according to ABC7NY’s report on the victims and investigation.
Piacenti died from her injuries.
The attack occurred close to the NYPD’s Times Square substation and near the central pedestrian areas surrounding the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The location’s visibility and density meant that witnesses, commuters and tourists quickly gathered as officers responded.
An editorial reconstruction of the police response in the Times Square area.
Erin Piacenti identified as Bank of America vice president
Piacenti was identified by police and media reports as a Bank of America vice president who worked in business selection and conflicts.
Bank of America issued a statement expressing shock and grief over her death.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the company said, according to reporting from PBS NewsHour and The Associated Press. “She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.”
Piacenti graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021, according to information cited in local reporting. Fordham Law also expressed condolences following her death.
The stabbing stunned colleagues and members of the legal and financial communities because it struck a professional in the middle of a crowded Manhattan afternoon. Bank of America’s New York office tower is located only a few blocks from Times Square, placing the attack close to one of the city’s most prominent business districts.
The company did not immediately provide additional details about Piacenti’s responsibilities or her movements before the stabbing.
Police confronted the suspect near the Times Square substation
After the two stabbings, Cisneros fled toward the NYPD substation, authorities said. Witnesses alerted officers, who located her and attempted to stop the threat.
Police said officers issued numerous commands for Cisneros to drop the knives. The confrontation lasted approximately four minutes, according to the NYPD account.
Tisch said Cisneros refused to comply and made threats toward officers, including statements that she would rather kill them. Officers deployed Tasers twice, but the devices did not stop her advance, officials said.
Two officers then fired their service weapons, striking Cisneros.
She was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. No officer was reported injured.
The sequence was partially captured by bystander video. According to PBS NewsHour’s report, footage showed officers surrounding Cisneros as she held two large knives, followed by a Taser deployment and movement toward police.
The NYPD has not released the full body-worn-camera footage. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the department would conduct an internal investigation and that the recordings would be made public.
An editorial still life representing the evidence review now underway.
Mental-health history becomes part of the investigation
Police said Cisneros had a documented mental-health history and had two prior interactions with officers, in 2018 and 2019.
In one incident, police said she was acting intoxicated, screaming and behaving aggressively at a hotel on Lexington Avenue. In another, she reportedly jumped onto the E train tracks in Queens before a good Samaritan pulled her to safety.
Authorities said Cisneros had no prior New York City arrest record.
Those details have placed mental-health intervention at the center of the public discussion, although officials have not announced a definitive motive for the attack. Police have described the stabbings as random and unprovoked, and investigators have not indicated that Cisneros knew either victim.
Mental illness alone does not establish a motive or explain a violent act. The investigation will need to determine what preceded the attack, whether Cisneros had access to treatment, and whether any warning signs were reported before the confrontation.
Questions raised over the police shooting
The fatal police shooting is also expected to receive formal scrutiny.
The central questions include whether officers had sufficient time to use less-lethal tactics, whether the Tasers were deployed effectively, how quickly Cisneros advanced toward police, and whether the officers’ use of deadly force complied with department policy.
Police officials have emphasized that officers attempted verbal commands and Taser deployments before firing. Critics and civil-rights advocates are likely to examine the same encounter through body-camera footage, witness accounts and forensic evidence.
The internal NYPD investigation is expected to review the officers’ actions, the distance between police and Cisneros, the visibility of the knives and the potential danger to officers and pedestrians nearby.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office may also review the shooting, as is customary in cases involving deadly force by police. Any final assessment will depend on evidence that has not yet been released publicly.
Bellevue Hospital received the victims and the suspect after the Times Square confrontation.
Security concerns in one of New York’s busiest areas
The attack has renewed questions about safety in Times Square, where between 200,000 and 250,000 pedestrians may pass through the area on a typical day, according to figures cited by Al Jazeera.
The area has a permanent police presence, surveillance infrastructure and frequent security operations because of its tourist volume and symbolic importance. Yet the incident showed how quickly a violent confrontation can unfold in a crowded public space.
The fatal stabbing also comes after other high-profile attacks involving corporate executives and workers in Midtown Manhattan, adding to concern among employees who commute through the city’s commercial core. Authorities have not suggested that Piacenti was targeted because of her employment, and police have characterized the attack as random.
For New Yorkers seeking continuing local coverage, the New York News Daily News section will follow developments as investigators release additional information.
Investigation remains active
The NYPD investigation remains active, with detectives reviewing witness statements, surveillance video, bystander recordings, body-camera footage and the recovered knives.
Officials have not announced a motive, and several details: including the precise movement of the suspect before the first stabbing and the full sequence leading to the police shooting: remain subject to review.
Piacenti’s death leaves her family, colleagues and legal community mourning a loss that began with an apparently random attack in the heart of Manhattan. The 68-year-old survivor’s release from the hospital provided one measure of relief, but the incident left two families affected and raised broader questions about public safety, mental-health intervention and police use of force.
The New York breaking news investigation is expected to develop as the NYPD releases additional evidence and officials determine whether further action is warranted.