Who Is Pamela Cisneros? Times Square Stabbing Murder Case

Pamela Cisneros was a 49-year-old Queens woman who police say carried out a random double stabbing in Times Square on August 31, 2026, killing 32-year-old Erin Piacenti and critically wounding a 68-year-old man. According to the NYPD, Cisneros pulled two knives from a shopping bag, stabbed the first victim near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, then stabbed Piacenti roughly 20 seconds later near West 42nd Street. Police confronted Cisneros while she was still armed, and officers fatally shot her after Tasers failed and she allegedly advanced toward them with the knives.

Pamela Cisneros Times Square Attack

Police Say Cisneros Attacked Two Strangers In Times Square. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the stabbings occurred on Seventh Avenue during the afternoon of August 31 and appeared to be random and unprovoked. [ABC7 New York] [NBC New York]

The Two Attacks Occurred About 20 Seconds Apart. Police said Cisneros first attacked a 68-year-old man and then moved approximately one block north before stabbing Erin Piacenti. [CBS New York] [NBC New York]

First Victim Stabbed Near West 41st Street

The First Victim Was A 68-Year-Old Man. Police said the man had just exited the subway and was standing with his wife near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue when Cisneros allegedly approached him. [CBS New York] [NBC New York]

Cisneros Allegedly Pulled Two Knives From A Red Target Bag. A witness told police that she removed the knives from the shopping bag, waved them and then stabbed the man in the abdomen. [CBS New York] [NBC New York]

The Man Survived The Attack. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital with serious injuries and was reported in stable or critical-but-stable condition following the stabbing. [ABC7 New York] [NBC New York]

Erin Piacenti Murder

Cisneros Allegedly Stabbed Erin Piacenti Seconds Later. Police say Cisneros walked north toward West 42nd Street and stabbed Piacenti in the abdomen approximately 20 seconds after attacking the first victim. [NBC New York] [ABC7 New York]

Piacenti Died From Her Injuries. Emergency personnel transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after the stabbing. [NBC New York] [New York Post]

Police Found No Apparent Relationship Between Cisneros And Piacenti. Investigators described the killing as an apparently random and unprovoked attack. [NBC New York] [ABC7 New York]

Who Was Erin Piacenti?

Piacenti Was 32 And Lived In Chester, New Jersey. Authorities released her identity the day after the Times Square attack. [NBC New York]

Piacenti Was A Vice President At Bank Of America. She worked as a vice president of business selection and conflicts for the financial institution. [New York Post]

Piacenti Was A University Of Pennsylvania And Fordham Law Graduate. Reporting after her death said she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham University School of Law in 2021. [New York Post]

Piacenti Had Recently Celebrated Her Second Wedding Anniversary. She and her husband marked their second anniversary on August 10, 2026, three weeks before her death. [New York Post]

Cisneros Approaches NYPD Officers

Cisneros Continued North After The Stabbings. Police said she moved toward the NYPD substation in Times Square while still holding both knives. [ABC7 New York] [NBC New York]

Witnesses Flagged Down Police Officers. Members of the public alerted officers to the armed woman after the attacks. [CBS New York]

Officers Spent Several Minutes Ordering Cisneros To Drop The Knives. Commissioner Tisch said police spoke to her for approximately four minutes and repeatedly commanded her to surrender the weapons. [ABC7 New York] [CBS New York]

Cisneros Allegedly Threatens Police

Police Say Cisneros Threatened To Kill The Officers. Tisch said Cisneros told officers that she would rather kill them than surrender and repeatedly threatened their lives during the confrontation. [CBS New York] [ABC7 New York]

Officers Used Tasers Before Firing Their Guns. Police said officers deployed Tasers multiple times, but the devices failed to stop Cisneros. [CBS New York] [ABC7 New York]

Police Say Cisneros Then Advanced Toward Officers While Armed. Two officers fired their service weapons after she allegedly continued moving toward them with the knives. [NBC New York] [CBS New York]

Pamela Cisneros Shot And Killed By Police

Two NYPD Officers Shot Cisneros. She was struck during the confrontation on Seventh Avenue between West 42nd and West 43rd streets. [ABC7 New York]

Cisneros Was Taken To A Hospital And Pronounced Dead. Her death means she will not face a criminal prosecution for Piacenti’s killing or the stabbing of the surviving victim. [NBC New York] [CBS New York]

Police Recovered Two Knives From The Scene. The NYPD subsequently released an image of the weapons investigators say Cisneros used during the attacks and confrontation. [ABC7 New York]

Who Was Pamela Cisneros?

Cisneros Lived In Queens. Police publicly identified her following the attacks and police shooting. [NBC New York] [CBS New York]

Police Said Cisneros Had No Prior Arrest History. Commissioner Tisch said the NYPD had no criminal-arrest record for her before the Times Square incident. [CBS New York] [Spectrum News NY1]

The NYPD Had Previous Mental-Health-Related Contacts With Cisneros. Police said department records documented mental-health-related incidents involving her in 2018 and 2019. [NBC New York] [CBS New York]

Motive

Police Have Not Identified A Personal Motive For The Stabbings. Investigators currently describe the two attacks as random and unprovoked. [ABC7 New York] [NBC New York]

Authorities Said The Attack Does Not Appear Connected To Terrorism. Law-enforcement sources said investigators had found no apparent terrorism nexus. [NBC New York]

Police Shooting Investigation

The NYPD Is Reviewing The Officers’ Use Of Deadly Force. The fatal police shooting is undergoing the department’s standard investigation. [ABC7 New York]

The Confrontation Was Captured On Body-Worn Cameras. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said body-camera footage from the incident will be released publicly. [CBS New York] [ABC7 New York]

Case Status

Police Identify Cisneros As The Suspect In Piacenti’s Killing And The Second Stabbing. The investigation remains open, but authorities have publicly attributed both attacks to Cisneros. [NBC New York] [ABC7 New York]

There Will Be No Criminal Trial Of Cisneros Because She Died At The Scene’s Aftermath. Investigators will instead continue examining the stabbings and the subsequent police shooting.

The Surviving Victim Continues To Recover. The 68-year-old man survived his abdominal stab wound and remained hospitalized in stable condition in the latest public updates. [NBC New York] [ABC7 New York]