NEW YORK: A Times Square stabbing killed 32-year-old Bank of America employee Erin Piacenti on Monday, August 31, while another man suffered serious injuries, New York City police said.
Police identified Piacenti as a resident of Chester, New Jersey. She died at a hospital after the attack near Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, according to the New York City Police Department.
A second victim, a 68-year-old man from Rhode Island, suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. Officials said doctors listed him in stable condition after initially describing his injuries as life-threatening.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the suspect attacked the two victims within about 20 seconds near 41st Street and Seventh Avenue. She described both attacks as apparently random and unprovoked.
Police identified the suspect as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens. According to Tisch, Cisneros fled toward an NYPD substation after the attacks while carrying knives.
Officers confronted her and repeatedly ordered her to drop the weapon, Tisch said. Police first deployed Tasers before two officers fired their service weapons after she continued threatening them.
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Cisneros later died at a hospital. Police recovered two knives from the scene and said investigators found no indication that the incident was related to terrorism.
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Bank of America said it was “shocked and deeply saddened” by Piacenti’s death. Fordham Law School also said Piacenti and her husband graduated from the school in 2021.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the NYPD would conduct an internal investigation. He also said authorities would release body-camera footage from the encounter.
