A Bank of America vice president was one of the two victims killed in a stabbing at Times Square on Monday afternoon.
Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, N.J., died at Bellevue Hospital from her injuries, the New York City Police Department said. She worked as vice president of business selection and conflicts at the bank, about a block from where she was attacked, according to her LinkedIn profile. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” a spokesperson for Bank of America told Fortune. “She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.”
Police said a woman carrying two knives in a Target bag stabbed Piacenti and a 68-year-old man near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue around 4:24 p.m. Monday. The two victims were stabbed within 20 seconds of each other, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at an evening press briefing. The man was hospitalized in stable condition.
Police identified the attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens. Officers confronted her several blocks away and spent about four minutes trying to get her to drop the knives, Tisch said. Cisneros told them, “I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.” Officers then used a Taser, which failed to stop her, and two officers opened fire as she advanced toward them. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world,” Tisch said at a Monday evening press conference. “Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat with countless innocent people around them. In that moment, they did what we trained them to do.”
She added, “One life cut far too short by a senseless act of violence. There are family members and loved ones who are now confronting the unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with them.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani thanked the responding officers at the briefing, saying they “stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse.” He added, “This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe.”