Woman killed, man wounded in random stabbing incident at New York’s Times Square

Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old vice president from Chester, New Jersey, lost her life in a random stabbing incident that occurred in Times Square on Monday afternoon. She worked as a vice president of business selection and conflicts at Bank of America, located just a block away from the attack site according to her LinkedIn profile.

Piacenti graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021. Bank of America mourned the loss of their colleague, stating that she was a valued teammate who would be greatly missed. The attack happened near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue around 4:24 p.m. when a woman carrying two knives in a Target bag brutally stabbed Piacenti and a 68-year-old man within 20 seconds of each other.

The man was subsequently hospitalized in stable condition. Police identified the attacker, Pamela Cisneros, 49, from Queens. After a standoff, officers had to use a Taser and then fired at Cisneros, who was pronounced dead at the hospital. The incident unfolded in the heart of Times Square, a bustling crossroads, and police commissioner Jessica Tisch described it as an extraordinarily dangerous situation with innocent bystanders around.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the officers for their quick response and thanked them for preventing a catastrophic attack. He emphasized the constant efforts of police officers to keep the city safe.