1 dead, 1 injured in stabbing spree in Times Square
Todd Piro covers a deadly double stabbing in Times Square that killed one person and injured another. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers first used tasers before ultimately shooting and killing the knife-wielding suspect.
A Bank of America executive who had only just resumed her job after maternity leave was killed Monday in a violent attack in New York City’s Times Square. Authorities said a woman armed with a knife stabbed her and injured a second victim before police fatally shot the suspect.
The woman who died was identified as Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, New Jersey. According to The New York Times, Piacenti was in her first week back at Bank of America following five months of maternity leave spent caring for her newborn daughter.
Just four days before the fatal Times Square stabbing, Piacenti had posted a family photo on social media showing herself with her baby and her husband, Frank Piacenti. Her recent posts also highlighted her daughter’s baptism and family trips taken during her leave.
Police said Piacenti was attacked near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. She was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Erin Piacenti, the Bank of America vice president who was killed in a stabbing attack in New York City’s Times Square on Monday Aug. 31, 2026. (Facebook/Erin Piacenti)
A 68-year-old man was also stabbed in the abdomen and taken to Bellevue, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police said the attack began near West 41st Street when Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens, approached the man while armed with two large knives. He had just exited a subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife.
A witness told investigators that Cisneros pulled the knives from a red Target bag before attacking the man.
Erin Piacenti, the Bank of America vice president who was tragically killed in a stabbing attack in New York City’s Times Square on Monday Aug. 31, 2026, on her wedding day. (Facebook/Erin Piacenti)
Cisneros then moved north on Seventh Avenue and stabbed Piacenti. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the two attacks occurred about 20 seconds apart.
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Officers later confronted Cisneros while she was still holding both knives. Police recovered the weapons at the scene.
Cisneros refused repeated commands to drop the weapons and engaged officers in a standoff that lasted about four minutes, Tisch said. When she advanced toward officers while waving the knives, police deployed Tasers, but they failed to stop her. Two officers then fired their weapons.
A photo showing two knives recovered at the scene is displayed during a press conference following a fatal stabbing incident in Times Square near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York, United States, on August 31, 2026. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them,” Tisch said.
Cisneros was taken to Bellevue, where she was pronounced dead.
Tisch described the attack as random and unprovoked. Cisneros had documented mental health-related encounters with the NYPD in 2018 and 2019 but no prior arrest record with the department. Police said there was no indication the attack was related to terrorism.
Bank of America confirmed Piacenti’s death in an emailed statement to Reuters.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the bank said. “She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed.”
Piacenti earned a law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 2021 alongside her husband, the school told The Associated Press. Fordham Law said it was heartbroken by the death of its former student.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is reviewing the police shooting. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said body-worn camera footage from the encounter will be released.