Eyewitness video captured the chaos after a woman stabbed two strangers in Times Square within roughly 20 seconds, killing one, before police spent four minutes trying to persuade her to drop two knives.
The sharply different timelines define the deadly Monday attack. Police said Pamela Cisneros, 49, moved from one victim to the next in seconds. Officers later surrounded her near an NYPD substation and repeatedly ordered her to surrender before Tasers failed and she charged at them with both knives. Two officers then opened fire.
Two stabbings in 20 seconds
The attack began at about 4:24 p.m. near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, according to an Associated Press account of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s briefing.
Tisch said Cisneros pulled two large kitchen knives from a red shopping bag and stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen as he waited to cross the street with his wife. Cisneros then moved north and stabbed 32-year-old Erin Piacenti in the abdomen. Police said the two apparently random attacks occurred about 20 seconds apart.
This lady was running around stabbing people in time square. She straight up stabbed the person in front of me. Shit could’ve been me pic.twitter.com/lYfye4J1t1
— 𝖠𝖴𝖲𝖳𝖤𝖭꩜ (@austen_tv) August 31, 2026
Four-minute police talkdown
Witnesses pointed officers toward Cisneros as she continued up Seventh Avenue. Police surrounded her between West 42nd and West 43rd streets, where Tisch said officers spent about four minutes talking to her and giving her numerous commands to drop the knives.
“I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you. I will kill you,” Cisneros says in the video.
Multiple officers then fired their Tasers, but Cisneros remained standing. Video shows her swing both arms and rush toward officers with a knife in each hand. Two officers fired their service weapons and struck her.
Today in Times Square when tasers don’t work pic.twitter.com/aALVDZgYD0
— The E Man🇺🇸Street PHD (@DETECTIVE4LIFE) August 31, 2026
Officers immediately handcuffed Cisneros and began first aid. Emergency crews took her to Bellevue Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Bank executive killed
Paramedics took both stabbing victims to Bellevue Hospital. Doctors pronounced Piacenti dead, while the 68-year-old man remained in stable condition.
Reuters reported that Piacenti worked in Bank of America’s business selection and conflicts unit. The bank called her a valued teammate and expressed condolences to her family.
Police rule out terrorism
Tisch said investigators had no reason to believe the attack involved terrorism. Police described both stabbings as random and unprovoked.
Cisneros had no NYPD arrest record but had a documented mental health history involving previous police encounters, Tisch said. Officials did not disclose the nature of those encounters.
The NYPD released an image of the two knives recovered at the scene. The department’s Force Investigation Division continues to investigate the police shooting, and officials said the NYPD will release officers’ body-camera footage.
Provided by Dallas Express
