NEW YORK (TNND) — A GoFundMe campaign for the 5-month-old daughter of the Bank of America executive stabbed to death in Times Square has raised nearly $1 million as donations continue to pour in just days after the murder.
As of early Saturday afternoon, the fundraiser, “In Memory of Erin Piacenti: Supporting Madison’s Future,” had collected more than $851,000 toward a $1.2 million goal from 8,700 donors.
According to the campaign, the money will support Piacenti’s 5 daughter, Madison, and will go directly to Piacenti’s husband, Frank. The GoFundMe page said it was organized by Frank Piacenti’s brother-in-law in consultation with the family.
“This fund has been established to support Madison and her future. It offers the many people who loved Erin, knew her, worked with her, or have simply been moved by her story, a way to honor Erin by helping care for the daughter she loved more than anything,” the campaign noted. “Funds raised will be dedicated to supporting Madison as she grows up surrounded by the family, friends, stories, and memories that will allow her to know just how remarkable her mother was.”
This image made from video provided by WABC-TV shows NYPD officers on the scene after a woman brandishing two large knives was shot by officers in Times Square in New York, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (WABC via AP)
Piacenti, 32, was killed on Monday in what New York police described as a random and unprovoked stabbing in Times Square. It was her first day back at work after maternity leave, according to the fundraiser.
A second person — a 68-year-old man — was hurt during the stabbing.
This image made from video provided by WABC shows NYPD officers on the scene after a woman brandishing two large knives was shot by officers in Times Square in New York, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (WABC via AP)
Police identified the attacker as Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens. Officers shot and killed her after the stabbing, according to authorities.
NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has said Cisneros had mental-health-related encounters with police in 2018 and 2019, but had no arrest record in New York City.
Cisneros’ brother, Patrick Peralta, told the New York news outlet Gothamist that she had psychiatric problems for decades, but wasn’t aggressive. The divorced mother of three had been taking medications and doing better in the last several years, working on and off in a legal office, according to Peralta, who said he last saw her at a relative’s birthday gathering early last month. He said Cisneros skipped family dinners last week, but assured their mother she was OK in a phone call Saturday.
Piacenti was a devoted mother, wife, daughter, and friend, The GoFundMe account noted. She and her husband welcomed Madison five months before the deadly attack and had recently returned from a family road trip, organizers said.
Piacenti was a vice president at Bank of America and had previously worked as an attorney. She graduated from Fordham University School of Law after attending the University of Pennsylvania.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.