A Bank of America executive who had recently returned to work after maternity leave was fatally stabbed Monday in New York City’s Times Square, where a knife-wielding woman also wounded another person before police fatally shot the suspect.
The victim was identified as Erin Piacenti, 32, of Chester, New Jersey. Piacenti was in her first week back at Bank of America after spending five months caring for her newborn daughter, engaged officers in a standoff that lasted about four minutes, Tisch said. When she advanced toward officers while waving the knives, police deployed Tasers, but they failed to stop her. Two officers then fired their weapons.
"Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them," Tisch said.
Cisneros was taken to Bellevue, where she was pronounced dead.
Tisch described the attack as random and unprovoked. Cisneros had documented mental health-related encounters with the NYPD in 2018 and 2019 but no prior arrest record with the department. Police said there was no indication the attack was related to terrorism.
Bank of America confirmed Piacenti’s death in an police shooting. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said body-worn camera footage from the encounter will be released.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.