Woman Kills One, Injures Another in Times Square Stabbing

One person was killed and another injured after a woman randomly stabbed two people in New York City's Times Square before being fatally shot by police, authorities said.

The attack happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. Monday near a New York Police Department substation outside One Times Square, the building famous for hosting the city's annual New Year's Eve ball drop. The location is among New York's most heavily visited and closely policed areas.

According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the 49-year-old woman from Queens pulled two knives from a shopping bag and attacked a 68-year-old man who had just exited the subway and was waiting to cross the street with his wife. She stabbed him in the abdomen.

Seconds later, she stabbed a 32-year-old woman, also in the abdomen. Both victims were taken to a hospital, where the woman died. The man remained in stable condition. Police did not say whether either victim was a tourist or a New York resident.

Videos shared online showed numerous officers surrounding the woman as she stood holding two large kitchen knives. Tisch said officers spent several minutes trying to persuade her to put the weapons down before deploying a Taser.

The woman refused to surrender the knives, telling officers, “I'm not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you,” according to Tisch.

The Taser failed to incapacitate her. Video footage showed the woman moving quickly toward officers while waving the knives. Two officers then opened fire, striking her. She fell to the ground and was handcuffed, after which officers rolled her onto her back and provided first aid.

Tisch described the incident as “an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world.”

The police commissioner said the woman had a documented history of mental health-related incidents involving the NYPD in 2018 and 2019. She had no previous arrest record with the department, and Tisch did not provide further details about those incidents. She also ruled out terrorism as a motive.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed sympathy for the victims and their families and praised the officers who responded to the 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,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani and Tisch both said the officers' actions helped prevent further casualties given the woman's refusal to drop the knives and her movement toward police.

Part of Seventh Avenue was temporarily closed following the shooting, while police urged the public to avoid the area. A large law enforcement presence remained at the scene as investigators worked behind police tape.

The attack comes despite an overall decline in violent crime across New York City this year. Homicides are down 24% and are on track to potentially reach their lowest level in decades.

However, Monday's killing was the second homicide in Times Square this year. In May, a man was fatally stabbed in the same area.