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A woman armed with two large knives. Two people already stabbed. Four minutes of police commands. Tasers that failed to stop the threat.
Then came the gunfire.
That is the basic timeline of Monday’s deadly attack in Times Square, according to reporting from CBS News New York and ABC News.
Police identified the woman killed in the attack as 32-year-old Erin Piacenti of Chester, New Jersey. Piacenti was a vice president at Bank of America and a graduate of Fordham Law School.
She had recently returned from maternity leave and was heading home from work when she was attacked. Piacenti leaves behind her husband, Frank, and their five-month-old daughter.
Police identified the suspected attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens.
The violence began around 4:26 p.m. Monday near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue. Police said Cisneros pulled two knives from a shopping bag and approached 68-year-old Tak Kam of Kingston, Rhode Island.
Kam had just exited the subway and was waiting to cross the street with his wife. The couple was visiting New York to see their son in Brooklyn.
Police said Cisneros stabbed Kam in the abdomen without warning.
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About 20 seconds later, investigators say Cisneros moved north on Seventh Avenue and stabbed Piacenti in the abdomen. Police described both attacks as random and unprovoked.
Witnesses flagged down nearby officers as Cisneros headed toward the NYPD substation in Times Square.
What happened next will be closely examined.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, officers spent roughly four minutes speaking with Cisneros and repeatedly ordering her to drop the knives. She refused.
Police said Cisneros threatened to kill the officers while continuing to hold a knife in each hand.
Officers deployed Tasers twice, but they failed to stop her. Cisneros then advanced toward the officers while still armed, according to police and video from the scene.
Two officers opened fire, striking her. Cisneros was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she died.
Piacenti was also taken to a hospital but could not be saved. Kam survived and was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon, according to an updated ABC7 New York report.
Police recovered both knives at the scene.
So, was the shooting justified?
Based on the facts released so far, the officers appear to have faced an immediate deadly threat. Cisneros allegedly had two knives, had already stabbed two strangers and refused repeated commands to disarm.
Police did not fire immediately. They spent several minutes attempting to get her to surrender and tried less-lethal Tasers before using their firearms.
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Once she continued advancing with the knives, the officers had more than their own safety to consider. This happened in the middle of Times Square, one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the country. Allowing an armed attacker to move freely through that crowd could have placed more people in danger.
Cisneros had a documented history of mental health crises. Police had encountered her during incidents in 2018 and 2019, but she reportedly had no prior arrest record.
That history helps explain the tragedy, but it does not make two knives less dangerous. Officers responding in the moment had to deal with the threat in front of them. They could not gamble with their lives or the lives of nearby pedestrians.
Some may ask why several officers could not simply rush Cisneros and overpower her. That sounds much easier from a safe distance than it does when someone is holding two knives and has already stabbed two people.
A single knife can cause a fatal injury in seconds. Closing the distance also could have placed officers within immediate reach of both blades.
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The NYPD Force Investigation Division is reviewing the shooting. Body-camera footage exists and is expected to be released publicly at a later date. Neither of the officers who fired has been publicly identified.
That footage may provide a clearer picture of the final moments. For now, the known timeline shows officers gave Cisneros repeated opportunities to drop the weapons, attempted less-lethal force and fired only after she continued advancing.
This was a tragedy from every angle. Erin Piacenti lost her life in a random attack. Tak Kam was seriously wounded. Pamela Cisneros died during an apparent mental health crisis. The officers now must live with the decisions they made in a few chaotic minutes.
Could they have handled it differently, or did they do exactly what the situation demanded?
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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she got what she deserved!