United States, New York — Bank of America Vice President Erin Piacenti was tragically stabbed and killed during a random, unprovoked attack in New York City's Times Square. The attacker was subsequently shot and killed by responding officers.
The violent encounter unfolded on Monday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. in the heavily crowded tourist hub of Times Square, near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a 49-year-old woman identified as Pamela Cisneros pulled two large knives from a bag and began randomly targeting pedestrians.
• First Victim: Cisneros first approached a 68-year-old tourist from Rhode Island who was exiting a subway station with his wife near West 41st Street. Cisneros stabbed the man in the abdomen. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and remains in stable condition.
• Second Victim: Approximately 20 seconds later, Cisneros advanced toward 32-year-old Erin Piacenti near West 42nd Street, stabbing her in the abdomen in what authorities described as a completely unprovoked attack. Piacenti was transported to a local hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries. [4, 6, 10]
Police Confrontation
Two responding NYPD officers quickly confronted Cisneros, ordering her to drop her weapons during a tense four-minute standoff.
Body camera footage captured Cisneros refusing to comply, explicitly threatening the officers by shouting, "I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you." When she advanced toward them with the knives, officers deployed a Taser. After the Taser failed to stop her, the officers opened fire, fatally shooting Cisneros, the attacker.
The attacker was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Investigators revealed that Cisneros had a documented history of mental health challenges with the NYPD dating back to 2018 and 2019, though she had no prior arrests.
Profile of Erin Piacenti
Erin Piacenti was a resident of Chester, New Jersey. She served as the Vice President of Business Selection and Conflicts for Bank of America in New York City.
Piacenti was an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania (class of 2016) and Fordham Law School (class of 2021), and she had recently marked her second wedding anniversary.
Statements and Reactions
Bank of America spokesperson John Yiannacopoulos released a statement mourning Piacenti as a valued colleague and expressing condolences to her family; the full statement can be reviewed in the referenced source.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that the NYPD Force Investigation Division is conducting the standard inquiry into the shooting, with body camera footage slated for public release later.
Share Your Thoughts