Bank Executive Killed in Random Midday Knife Blitz

(Erin Piacenti. Photo by X/Trumpusa1)

A young woman working at Bank of America has been killed in a sudden knife attack in the middle of Times Square.

Erin Piacenti, 32, was stabbed in the stomach near 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue on a Monday afternoon.

She was rushed to hospital but did not survive her wounds.

Piacenti lived in Chester, New Jersey, and had just marked two years of marriage.

She held a senior position at the bank as vice president of business selection and conflicts in their New York office.

Police said the attack on her came without any warning or reason.

The woman accused of the stabbing, Pamela Cisneros from Queens, was shot dead by police after she refused to drop her knives and threatened officers.

Before attacking Piacenti, Cisneros had already stabbed another person a 68-year-old man who had stepped out of the subway with his wife.

He was taken to hospital where he remains in critical but stable condition.

The violence started when Cisneros pulled out two kitchen knives near West 41st Street.

She stabbed the older man in the stomach without any reason, then moved toward 42nd Street where she encountered Piacenti and attacked her the same way.

Officers were alerted and confronted Cisneros while she was still holding the knives.

For four minutes, police told her to put down the weapons, but she refused.

She told them she would rather kill them both.

After police used tasers twice without success, Cisneros charged at the officers.

Two of them fired their guns, hitting her. She died in hospital.

Piacenti had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and went on to study law at Fordham Law School, finishing in 2021.

Bank of America released a statement saying they were deeply sad about losing her, calling her a valued member of the team.

Police revealed that Cisneros had a history of mental health problems, though they have not said what drove her to carry out the attack.

There was no connection between her and Piacenti, and no argument happened before the stabbing.

The NYPD is investigating the police shooting, and the mayor's office has said that video from officers' cameras will be made public.

The investigation is continuing.

A knife-wielding woman reportedly stabbed two people at random in Times Square before attacking police. The suspect, 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, was shot and killed by officers.

One of the victims, 32-year-old Bank of America vice president Erin Piacenti, later succumbed to her… https://t.co/Wb1NaTNjob

— ☻ (@NoExtraFeelings) September 1, 2026