New York: A senior bank executive was stabbed to death by a knife-wielding woman in Times Square, swarming with thousands of tourists visiting the iconic landmark.
The stabber, a woman, was later shot dead by police on Monday as blood drenched the platforms of the city’s heart.
The victim was identified by the Bank of America (BoA) on Tuesday as its vice president Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old rising executive.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed,” the bank said.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference, “This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world”.
Another man was stabbed earlier by the same woman and is in stable condition in a hospital, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Although Times Square has been in the crosshairs of terrorists for a long time, officials indicated that terrorism was not a motive, but mental illness could be a factor.
The stabber, Pamela Cisneros, 45, had a record of “mental health history”, Tisch said, and she had two previous encounters with police.
Flabbergasted tourists watched in fear as the woman wielded two knives when police tried to arrest her.
Last month, a teenage Australian tourist was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at a McDonald’s restaurant a few blocks from Times Square.
In the Times Square incident, police tried to subdue Cisneros with a Taser, a device that sends electric current through a wire shot at the person, but it apparently did not work, and two of them shot her.
Tisch said, “During the encounter, she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything, I’d rather kill both of you’. She repeated, “I will kill you”.
Tisch called the attack unprovoked.
Mental health issues have been a factor in many of the random attacks on people in the city, where violent crimes have been on the decline.
People allegedly with mental health problems have stabbed people or thrown them on subway tracks in recent months.
Mamdani, who campaigned as a critic of the police, lambasting their shootings, turned back this time.
“Our officers did exactly what they’re trained to do,” he said.
During the campaign, he said he would set up a system of having social workers and psychologists responding to incidents involving mentally ill people and defended the police action.
But now he said that would not have been appropriate in the latest incident.
(IANS)
