Key takeaways:
- Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, New Jersey, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen near 41st Street and Seventh Avenue in Times Square.
- A 68-year-old man was stabbed in the right side of his abdomen and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
- Police said the suspect, Pamela Cisneros, 49, had no criminal history but had documented NYPD mental health incidents in 2018 and 2019.
A 32-year-old New Jersey woman was killed and a 68-year-old man was wounded Monday afternoon when police say a woman armed with two knives carried out a random stabbing attack in the heart of Times Square before officers shot her dead.
New York police identified the woman who died as Erin Piacenti of Chester, New Jersey. The BBC reported that police said Piacenti was an employee of Bank of America. The company said in a statement to Reuters, “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.”
The suspect was identified as Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens, New York. New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Cisneros had no criminal history but had a “documented mental health history with the NYPD,” including one incident in 2018 and one in 2019.
Tisch described the attack as “an unprovoked double stabbing” that unfolded within about 20 seconds along Seventh Avenue. Police said the first 911 calls came in at about 4:24 p.m. local time, reporting that a woman armed with two knives was stabbing people near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, a busy tourist area.
The first victim, a 68-year-old man, had just exited the subway and was standing with his wife waiting to cross the street, Tisch said. “A witness at the scene told investigators that he observed the subject remove two knives from a red Target bag before approaching the first victim,” she said. “The subject waved the knives before stabbing a 68-year-old man in the right side of his abdomen, in what appears to be a random and unprovoked attack.”
The man was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where police said he was in stable condition and recovering.
Police said Cisneros then continued north on Seventh Avenue toward 42nd Street, where she stabbed Piacenti in the abdomen. Piacenti was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead a short time later.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News the stabbings are believed to have been random and unprovoked, with no apparent connection to terrorism.
After the attacks, police said Cisneros kept walking up Seventh Avenue and encountered officers between 42nd and 43rd streets while still holding both knives. Officers spoke with her for four minutes and repeatedly ordered her to drop the weapons, Tisch said.
“During the encounter she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything, I’d rather kill both of you,’” Tisch said. “She repeated, ‘I will kill you.’”
Police said officers fired stun guns, but they appeared to be ineffective. Cisneros then advanced toward officers, and two officers opened fire. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police said both knives allegedly used in the attack were recovered at the scene.
“Tonight, our thoughts are, of course, with the victims of this horrific attack and their families,” Tisch said. “One life cut far too short by a senseless act of violence.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told a news conference that all three people involved were taken to hospitals, where Piacenti and Cisneros were later pronounced dead.
Melinda Puzon, a tourist from Boston, told CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. reporting partner, that she heard the shots and saw “so many people on the street.” She added, “It’s very shocking.”
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