Woman with a history of mental health attacks randomly in Times Square, kills Bank of America employee and is killed by police

Her name was Erin Piacenti, she was 32 years old and had just celebrated her second wedding anniversary. This is the fatal victim chosen at random from the stabbing in Times Square that was carried out on Monday by a woman with severe mental health problems that had even made her known to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Piacenti, a resident of Chester, New Jersey, worked for Bank of America, whose headquarters are close to where the attack occurred, barely a block away. She served as vice president of the Business and Conflicts section.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” a Bank of America spokesperson said. “She was an extraordinary companion who will be missed,” he insisted. He had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. According to his social networks, he got married in August 2024.

That fatal stabbing in the abdomen was preceded by another against a 68-year-old man, who survived. Both were recorded in just 20 seconds and were described by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch as unprovoked and casual actions. In no case was a new case considered Luigi Mangione, who recently accepted a sentence for killing an executive of an insurance company in that same area of ​​the city by shooting him in the back. Mangione acknowledged that he went for him, which was his goal.

The alleged perpetrator of the stabbings, Pamela Cisneros, 49, was fatally shot by the uniformed officers after she refused to hand over the pair of knives she brandished against the agents who tried to subdue her. After failing with the Tasers, the police opened live fire.

The officers spoke with the woman for four minutes and gave her “numerous commands” to drop the knives, but she refused, Tisch said. "I'm not going to say anything. I would prefer to kill you both. I will kill you," the woman threatened the agents during the confrontation. Police recovered the two kitchen knives.

Cisneros, a resident of the Queens district, was taken to the Bellevue hospital, where her death was certified. In that same hospital they also certified Piacenti's death and treated the other injured person.

Tisch described the entire scene, in one of the places in the world where most tourists meet, as “extraordinarily dangerous.” He also highlighted that the agents acted diligently “and as they are taught in training in the face of a danger to numerous innocent people.”

The commissioner, who traveled to the area with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, highlighted Cisneros' mental health history, with incidents dating back to 2018 and 2019. New York has had difficulties with the care and treatment of people with mental illnesses for years.