Bank of America VP Stabbed to Death in Times Square as Attacker Tells Cops 'I Will Kill You' Before Being Shot

A Bank of America vice-president was stabbed to death in Times Square during the evening rush hour on Monday, after a knife-wielding woman allegedly attacked two people within 30 seconds before being shot dead by police.

Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester Township, New Jersey, died in hospital after the attack near West 41st and 42nd Street on Seventh Avenue. A 68-year-old man, stabbed in the abdomen as he left the subway with his wife, remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch named the suspect as Pamela Cisneros, a Queens resident in her late forties, and said the assaults were 'random and unprovoked'.

Officers Confront Suspect Outside NYPD Substation

Officers were dispatched at 4.24pm local time after reports of a disorderly woman carrying knives. By the time they arrived, both victims had already been attacked.

Tisch said officers followed Cisneros as she walked north towards an NYPD substation on West 43rd Street, where they surrounded her and spent around four minutes attempting to de-escalate the situation.

According to Tisch, Cisneros refused to drop two kitchen-style knives and threatened the officers. 'I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you,' she said, according to the commissioner. 'I will kill you.'

Officers deployed tasers twice, but Tisch said these had little effect as Cisneros continued to advance.

Two officers then fired their service weapons, striking her, and she was pronounced dead at hospital shortly afterwards.

The NYPD's Force Investigation Division has opened an inquiry into the shooting, and officials said body-worn camera footage would be released publicly.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, speaking alongside Tisch in Times Square, said officers had prevented 'a horrific attack from becoming even worse'. Tisch called it 'an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world'.

Banker's Career and Suspect's Mental Health History

Piacenti worked as Bank of America's vice-president of business selection and conflicts, according to police and her publicly visible social media profiles. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021.

Bank of America said in a statement: 'We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.'

Tisch said Cisneros had a 'documented mental health history', with police records showing at least two prior encounters with her, in 2018 and 2019. She declined to give further details.

Clyde Benjamin, who works in Times Square, said: 'I knew it was mental health issues. That's a big epidemic out here, bro. We gotta get that under control.'

Shock in Times Square but Killings Remain Rare

Tourist Karyn Dasent, visiting from Trinidad, said the stabbing left her feeling 'uneasy to just be walking around' the area.

Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, called the killing 'a tragedy that will not soon be forgotten', adding that the group was 'thankful that once again the NYPD was swift to act and put themselves in harm's way to stop the perpetrator before more were injured'.

Despite between 200,000 and 250,000 pedestrians passing through Times Square daily, killings there remain rare, according to police data.