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NEW: Top Banking Executive Stabbed To Death In NYC
A 32-year-old Bank of America executive was stabbed to death in the middle of Times Square on Monday during a bloody rampage that ended with police fatally shooting the knife-wielding suspect.
Erin Piacenti, of Chester, New Jersey, was attacked in the abdomen by 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros Lopez, according to officials.
Piacenti later died from her injuries.
Sources told The New York Post that Piacenti worked in Manhattan as Bank of America’s vice president of business selection and conflicts.
Social media posts also showed that she had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary.
Police said Lopez also stabbed a 68-year-old man in the stomach during the chaotic attack. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
The violent episode unfolded in one of the busiest and most heavily traveled parts of New York City, sending pedestrians scrambling as officers confronted Lopez.
Video from the scene showed officers using a Taser on Lopez as she waved two knives, but the less-lethal attempt failed to stop her.
Police then opened fire after Lopez charged toward officers, authorities said.
Two gunshots could be heard before Lopez fell to the pavement.
Officers handcuffed her and immediately began administering first aid.
Police said the rampage began after Lopez pulled two knives from a shopping bag and attacked the 68-year-old man while he was waiting to cross the street with his wife.
She then allegedly stabbed Piacenti in the abdomen.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Lopez made a chilling threat during a brief confrontation with officers.
‘I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you.’
Tisch described the situation as a major threat to the public in the heart of Manhattan.
‘This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world.
‘At any given moment, there are thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families, workers moving through these streets.’
Tisch said Lopez had a ‘documented mental health history’ with the NYPD that included incidents in 2018 and 2019, though she had never been arrested.
Police initially received reports of a robbery at knifepoint, but investigators now believe Lopez had no clear motive for the attacks.
Authorities said there was no evidence the incident was connected to terrorism.
Both Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the responding officers, saying their actions may have prevented additional victims.
A witness who recorded part of the scene with smart glasses described seeing officers surround Lopez before the shooting.
‘She ran down, the cops went by, they surrounded her, talked to her for like five minutes.’
Witness Linda Ruiz described a gruesome scene as victims lay wounded before first responders arrived.
‘I saw a guy bleeding profusely from his right leg,’ she told the Daily News. ‘He was gushing blood, saying “I need help. Help me.”‘
‘I went to get a cop on the corner and there was another lady on the floor,’ Ruiz continued. ‘She was stabbed in the back or in the chest, I couldn’t tell.
‘There was a lot of blood,’ Ruiz noted. ‘She wasn’t conscious. The police were trying to resuscitate her, but she wasn’t moving. It was horrible.’
Hassan Abdallah, who works at a nearby fruit cart, said he watched a woman desperately try to stop the male victim’s bleeding.
‘I heard a lady screaming and then people were running like crazy,’ he recounted. ‘I went outside [the cart]. I saw an old guy, like 60, Asian. He was standing, holding his back. He got stabbed.
‘His wife was trying to stop the bleeding. She was using a book or some paper, then someone gave her a scarf. I gave him a paper towel. His wife told him to lay on the floor.’
The killing of a young banking executive in broad daylight has added to renewed concerns over random violence and public safety in New York City, particularly in heavily trafficked areas such as Times Square.
Police recovered two knives from the scene and are continuing to investigate the deadly attack.
