The mother of a woman killed by police after a fatal stabbing in Times Square has challenged the NYPD’s decision to open fire.
“There were so many police… Why didn’t they grab her by the arm?” the grieving mother said to FOX 5 NY yesterday. She spoke out after her daughter, Pamela Cisneros, 49, was shot dead Monday afternoon following a knife attack at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue.
Cisneros had just killed Erin Piacenti, 32, a Bank of America vice president of business selection and conflicts, and severely wounded a 68-year-old man in what police described as a random 20-second assault. The mother of three had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary.
The brother also defended Cisneros’s character, insisting, “She’s never been violent.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch offered a sharply different account of the confrontation. Responding officers spent roughly four minutes trying to persuade Cisneros to surrender after she allegedly removed two knives from a red Target shopping bag and advanced on her first victim. Officers first deployed standard-issue stun guns, but the tasers failed to stop her.
“She told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you,'” Tisch said.
Cisneros had no prior arrests, though police records showed documented mental health incidents involving her in 2018 and 2019. The attack drew scores of witnesses in the pedestrian corridor that handles up to 250,000 people daily.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the shooting at a press briefing this week, confirming the sequence of events: Cisneros stabbed two people, officers tried a taser, then fired their weapons.
“I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse,” Mamdani told the press. “This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe.”
Bank of America issued a statement mourning Piacenti. “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the company wrote. “She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones.”
The 68-year-old male victim remains hospitalized in stable condition.