Erin Piacenti, a 32-Year-Old Bank of America VP, Was Stabbed to Death in Times Square in What Police Say Was an Unprovoked Attack
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 3 hours ago, September 1, 2026
The woman charged in the attack, 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, was carrying two kitchen knives and had already stabbed another man before turning on Erin Piacenti on Monday. That man survived and was in stable condition Monday night.
Piacenti was stabbed in the stomach and pronounced dead at the hospital, the NYPD said. Officers ended a roughly four-minute standoff by shooting Cisneros dead after she approached them with both knives, footage circulating online shows, refusing repeated demands to drop them. Police appeared to try to tase her first.
Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said Cisneros had a “documented mental health history” that included prior encounters with police, and that the stabbings appeared random and unprovoked.
Piacenti led Bank of America’s business selection and conflicts unit. She studied political science at the University of Pennsylvania and earned her law degree at Fordham. The bank said it was “shocked and deeply saddened,” calling her a “valued teammate who will be greatly missed.”
Times Square sits in the Midtown South precinct, where only two murders had been recorded this year as of August. Citywide, murders are down 24.6% from the same stretch of 2025.
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