Victim killed in Times Square attack identified as Erin Piacenti, vice president of Bank of America
The attack occurred around 4:24 p.m. on Monday, August 31, near the intersection of West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Times Square.
File photo of the incident (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Erin Piacenti, the 32-year-old vice president of Bank of America , died on Monday after being stabbed in Times Square, New York in an attack that occurred in broad daylight and which authorities consider to be random and unrelated to terrorism. The alleged assailant, Pamela Cisneros, 49, also died after New York Police Department (NYPD) officers used a stun gun and subsequently fired their service weapons.
According to Reuters, Piacenti was vice president of the business development and disputes unit at Bank of America, according to her LinkedIn profile. The bank confirmed her death and expressed its sorrow at the loss of its employee:
"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones."
The attack occurred around 4:24 p.m. on Monday, August 31, near the intersection of West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Times Square. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch noted that the attacks appeared to have been random and unprovoked.
Cisneros, a 49-year-old woman from Queens with a history of mental health issues, was carrying several large knives. According to Tisch's account, she pulled two knives from a bag and began threatening people in the area.
The woman first stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen. She then attacked Piacenti, also in the abdomen. The Bank of America executive suffered stab wounds and was later pronounced dead.
The 68-year-old man was also injured and was in stable condition, according to the NYPD.
Other incidents in the area
The incident follows other random attacks that have targeted financial sector workers in Manhattan. Reuters noted that last summer, a Blackstone executive was killed in a shooting that took place in the lobby of an office building in Midtown Manhattan.
In 2022, a Goldman Sachs employee was killed in an apparently random and unprovoked shooting while traveling on a train from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
LATEST
