Bank of America VP Fatally Stabbed in Random Times Square Attack; Suspect With Mental Health History Shot Dead by Police

A 32-year-old Bank of America vice president was fatally stabbed Monday afternoon in a random attack in Times Square, authorities said, before police shot and killed the assailant after she refused to drop two knives and charged officers.

The incident began around 4:24 p.m. on Aug. 31 near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue. Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens, pulled two kitchen knives from a red Target bag and stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen as he waited to cross the street with his wife after exiting a subway station, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The man was later listed in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital.

Cisneros then walked north on Seventh Avenue and stabbed Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, New Jersey, in the abdomen near 42nd Street. Piacenti, who worked as vice president of business selection and conflicts at Bank of America in New York, died at Bellevue Hospital. She had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021 and had celebrated her second wedding anniversary on Aug. 10.

Erin Piacenti from social media. She was a Bank of America executive who married 2 years ago.

Tisch described both stabbings as random and unprovoked. Investigators found no evidence of terrorism.

Officers confronted Cisneros farther north near a police substation. For about four minutes they ordered her to drop the knives. Body-camera footage captured her saying, "I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you" and "I will kill you." Officers deployed Tasers, which were ineffective. When Cisneros advanced toward them with the knives, two officers fired their service weapons. She was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

Cisneros had a documented history of mental-health contacts with the NYPD in 2018 and 2019 but no arrest record, Tisch said. Police recovered both knives at the scene.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani thanked officers for intervening quickly and said the episode could have been worse. An internal investigation into the shooting is underway, and body-camera footage is expected to be released.

The attack occurred in one of the city's busiest pedestrian areas during the afternoon commute. Thousands of tourists, commuters and families were nearby. Authorities have not released a motive.