NYPD identifies woman killed in Times Square stabbing spree

A woman armed with two knives went on a random stabbing spree through the heart of Times Square Monday before a tense confrontation with NYPD officers ended in deadly gunfire, authorities said.

The attack left a 32-year-old woman dead and a 68-year-old man wounded after the two strangers were stabbed within just 20 seconds of each other, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during an evening news conference.

Police identified the alleged attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, who was also killed after officers opened fire. On Tuesday, police identified the deceased 32-year-old woman as Erin Piacenti, of Chester, New Jersey.

The violence began around 4:24 p.m. near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, where a 68-year-old man had just exited the subway and was standing with his wife waiting to cross the street.

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A witness told investigators Cisneros pulled two knives from a red Target bag, waved them and approached the man before stabbing him on the right side of his abdomen in what Tisch called a "random and unprovoked attack."

The man was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and remained in stable condition Monday evening.

Cisneros then headed north on Seventh Avenue toward West 42nd Street, where police said she approached Piacenti and stabbed her in the abdomen in another apparently random attack.

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Piacenti was rushed to Bellevue, where she died from her injuries. 

The two attacks unfolded within approximately 20 seconds of each other, Tisch said. The second stabbing was captured on an NYPD Argus camera.

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As Cisneros continued north, witnesses flagged down officers who confronted her between West 42nd and West 43rd streets. She was still holding both knives, police said.

What followed was a roughly four-minute standoff as officers repeatedly ordered Cisneros to drop the weapons and attempted to talk her into surrendering them.

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But she made clear she had no intention of surrendering the knives, Tisch said.

"I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you," Cisneros told the officers, according to Tisch.

"I will kill you," she repeated.

Police said Cisneros then began waving the knives and advancing toward the officers. Multiple officers deployed Tasers, but they failed to stop her.

As Cisneros continued advancing with the knives, two officers opened fire, striking her. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The officers were transported to a local area hospital for evaluation. 

Police said the knives were recovered at the scene. The investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.

The confrontation and police shooting were captured on officers’ body-worn cameras, Tisch said.

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"This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world," Tisch said.

She noted that thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families and workers can be moving through the area at any given moment.

"Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them," Tisch said. "In that moment, they did what we train them to do."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani also credited the responding officers with preventing further bloodshed.

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"I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," Mamdani said. "This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe."

Mamdani said the standard internal investigation into the police shooting will take place and that body-worn camera footage will be released to the public.

Cisneros had no arrest history with the NYPD, but department records documented a mental health history involving police interactions in 2018 and 2019, Tisch said. Investigators were still working to determine what brought her to Times Square before the attack.

Police said there was no reason at this stage of the investigation to believe the stabbing was an act of terrorism.

Tisch called the killing a "senseless act of violence" as she reflected on the victim and the family now confronting her death.

"One life cut far too short by a senseless act of violence," Tisch said. "There are family members and loved ones who are now confronting the unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with them."