NEW YORK, Sep 1 – A 32-year-old woman killed during a stabbing attack in Times Square has been identified as a Bank of America employee, as New York authorities released further details about the violent incident and the woman accused of carrying out the attack.
The victim, Erin Piacenti, was one of two people stabbed Monday afternoon in the heart of Manhattan’s busy theater and tourist district. The attack unfolded only a few blocks from Bank of America’s New York office tower, sending shock through one of the city’s most crowded and heavily policed neighborhoods.
Bank of America confirmed Tuesday that Piacenti worked for the company and said employees were mourning the loss of their colleague.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the bank said in a statement.
The company did not immediately provide additional information about Piacenti’s role or the nature of her work at the financial institution.
Piacenti was a graduate of Fordham Law School, where she completed her law degree in 2021. She graduated alongside her husband, Frank Piacenti, according to the law school. Fordham Law School said it was heartbroken by news of her death.
Authorities said the second stabbing victim was a 68-year-old man. His identity had not been publicly released as of Tuesday, and officials provided no immediate update on his condition after he was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police Identify Suspect as Investigation Continues
Police identified the suspected attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens. She was shot and killed by police officers following the stabbing incident after, authorities said, she confronted officers while holding two large knives.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Cisneros had previous encounters with police involving mental health concerns in 2018 and 2019. However, she had no arrest record in New York City, according to the commissioner.
The circumstances surrounding the attack have raised questions about Cisneros’ mental health and what may have happened in the period leading up to the violence.
Her brother, Patrick Peralta, told Gothamist that his sister had experienced psychiatric problems for decades but had not previously been known as an aggressive person. He said she was a divorced mother of three and had taken medication for her condition.
According to Peralta, Cisneros had appeared to be doing better in recent years and had worked intermittently at a legal office. He said he last saw his sister at a relative’s birthday gathering early last month.
Peralta said Cisneros missed several family dinners last week but reassured their mother during a telephone conversation on Saturday that she was doing well.
That made the events that followed even more difficult for the family to understand.
“We really don’t know how to express or how to explain why this happened,” Peralta told Gothamist, while also expressing sympathy for Piacenti’s family and for the other stabbing victim.
Authorities have not publicly identified a motive for the attack.
The violence began Monday afternoon when Cisneros allegedly removed two knives from a shopping bag, according to Tisch. Police said she first stabbed the 68-year-old man before attacking Piacenti.
The attack took place in a particularly busy section of Times Square, an area visited daily by tourists, theatergoers, commuters and New York residents. It also occurred near a police station and close to the building associated with the city’s annual New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration.
Despite the heavy police presence in the area, the attack quickly turned into a chaotic confrontation between Cisneros and responding officers.
Videos recorded by bystanders showed officers surrounding Cisneros while she stood holding two large knives in front of her. Police officers attempted to control the situation as onlookers recorded the confrontation.
Tisch said officers spent several minutes trying to convince Cisneros to put down the knives before escalating their response. According to the police commissioner, Cisneros refused to surrender the weapons and indicated that she would rather kill the officers than drop them.
Officers eventually used a stun gun, but the confrontation continued. Video footage showed Cisneros moving toward officers while still carrying the knives.
Two officers then opened fire, striking and killing her, according to police.
The shooting is now part of the broader investigation into the Times Square attack, including the sequence of events that led to the stabbings and the police response that followed.
The deadly incident has also renewed attention on public safety in Times Square, one of New York City’s most recognizable locations and an area that is routinely under extensive police surveillance.
The stabbing occurred in the same general area where a man was fatally stabbed in May, highlighting another violent incident in a part of the city that attracts millions of visitors each year.
For Piacenti’s family, friends and colleagues, however, the wider questions surrounding the attack come after the sudden loss of a woman whose life was cut short during an ordinary afternoon in one of the world’s most famous public spaces.
Bank of America and Fordham Law School both expressed sorrow following her death, while police continued working to establish a clearer picture of what led Cisneros to allegedly attack two strangers.
As of Tuesday, authorities had not announced any indication that Piacenti and Cisneros knew each other before the stabbing. Investigators also had not released a detailed explanation for why the two victims were targeted.
The second victim remained under medical care, while the investigation into the deadly confrontation continued. Police were also examining the attacker’s history and the events preceding Monday’s violence as officials sought to determine what caused the seemingly random assault to unfold in the middle of Times Square.