Officials said the attack appeared random, and that there was no evidence it was a terrorist attack.
NEW YORK — An executive with Bank of America was killed in an apparent random attack Monday at New York City’s Times Square. The suspect, who is also accused of stabbing another man, was killed by police.
The bank released a statement on behalf of 32-year-old Erin Pacenti.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the bank wrote in a statement shared with the Associated Press.
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A 68-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was also stabbed and remained hospitalized, though no update on his condition was publicly available Tuesday.
The attacker, identified by police as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, was shot and killed by police officers after the stabbings.
Police said the attack unfolded shortly before 4:30 p.m. next to a New York Police Department substation, just outside One Times Square.
Cisneros reportedly pulled out two knives from a shopping bag and stabbed the 68-year-old man who had just come out of the subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife, striking him in the abdomen, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
Seconds later, the attacker stabbed the woman, later identified as Pacenti, Tisch said. Both were taken to the hospital. Pacenti died, and the man was considered stable, according to police.
Videos posted on social media show a group of at least 10 officers gathered around Cisneros, who was holding two large kitchen knives.
Officers tried to convince Cisneros to drop the knives for several minutes before using a Taser, Tisch said. Cisneros told police: “I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you,” according to Tisch.
The video shows the Taser not incapacitating Cisneros and her walking quickly toward the officers while waving the knives in front of her.
Two officers then shot Cisneros, according to police. In the video posted by bystanders, Cisneros fell to the ground, where an officer handcuffed her. Officers rolled her onto her back and rendered first aid.
“This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world,” Tisch said.
Cisneros has a “documented mental health history with the NYPD,” which includes incidents in 2018 and 2019 but no arrest history with the department, Tisch said. She didn’t provide additional details.
Police are investigating. Tisch said there was no evidence suggesting it was a terrorist attack.
“We know that those families’ lives have been shattered by what took place today, and we will continue to hold them close as the hours and days and weeks continue from this moment,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Both Mamdani and Tisch praised the officers, saying more people could have been hurt or killed if not for their actions.
The NYPD temporarily closed part of 7th Avenue and warned the public to stay away from the area. Police tape cordoned off the area as a large group of law enforcement officers worked nearby.
Violent crime has fallen sharply in New York City so far this year, with homicides down 24% and on pace to potentially hit their lowest level in decades. But this is the second killing this year in Times Square. A man was fatally stabbed in the same area in May.
It is also the second high-profile public killing of a corporate executive in the city.
This attack is believed to be random and unrelated to the targeted attack on UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024. Luigi Mangione pled guilty to federal stalking charges in August in connection with that killing, which prosecutors said was a targeted assassination.
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