NYPD Kills Times Square Stabbing Suspect After She Stabs Erin Piacenti, Jessica Tisch Says

Times Square stabbing and shooting

A woman stabbed two people in Times Square near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue just before 4:30 p.m. on Monday, and police fatally shot her after she refused to put the knives down. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the suspect was threatening people with two knives and that the attack was a "random and unprovoked" attack, with the stabbings happening within 20 seconds of each other. The first victim was Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, New Jersey, who died at a hospital, while a 68-year-old man was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later described as stable.

NYPD officers confronted the suspect after she fled north toward the NYPD substation, and police said she refused commands to drop the knives before officers fired shots striking her. The NYPD temporarily closed traffic from West 42nd street to West 47th Street as the investigation continued.

Reporting for this sectionABC News6abc Philadelphia

Threats, Tasers, and commands

During the police encounter, Tisch said the suspect told officers, "I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you."

Tisch also said the suspect repeated, "I will kill you," as witnesses flagged down officers and gave her numerous commands to drop the knife.

ABC News reported that officers deployed Tasers before two officers discharged their service weapons, and that the suspect was identified by police as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens.

CBS News New York described a witness saying officers instructed the woman to put the knives down, and that the witness heard police say, "Drop it," as the situation unfolded.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during the press briefing, "I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," and the NYPD said it would conduct an internal investigation and release body-worn camera footage.

Reporting for this sectionABC NewsCBS News

Victim identities and next steps

Bank of America said in a statement that it is "shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague," identifying the victim as Erin Piacenti, a Bank of America worker who died after being stabbed in Times Square. Fordham University officials said they were "heartbroken to learn of the tragic and senseless loss of our alumna," and CBS News reported Piacenti was a 2016 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and earned her law degree from Fordham. Police said the suspect had a "documented mental health history" with the NYPD, including incidents in 2018 and 2019, but no arrest history, and officials stressed the incident was not terror-related.

The NYPD said it recovered two knives at the scene and that the investigation remains ongoing by the Force Investigation Division, while the NYPD also told the public, "Expect traffic delays, road closures, mass transit disruptions & emergency personnel near 42nd Street & 7th Avenue, Manhattan." Tisch said the shooting was captured on officers' body-worn cameras and that Mayor Mamdani said the footage will be released at a later date.

Reporting for this sectionABC NewsCBS News