Bank of America VP killed by knife-wielding woman in Times Square was new mom who just returned from maternity leave
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
A Bank of America vice president, Erin Piacenti, 32, was fatally stabbed in Times Square on Monday evening while walking home from work, in an attack that also seriously injured another pedestrian before police shot dead the assailant. The case has drawn wider attention after it emerged that Piacenti, of Chester, New Jersey, had been in her first week back at work following maternity leave, having given birth to a daughter five months earlier, adding a particularly tragic dimension to a random public attack that has unsettled her community.
Police say the attacker, Pamela Cisneros Lopez, 49, of Queens, pulled two kitchen knives from a shopping bag and stabbed 68-year-old Tak Ching Kam before turning on Piacenti, who died of her injuries. Officers used a Taser on Lopez without effect before shooting her dead as she advanced on them with the blades, reportedly warning she would "rather kill both of you." Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Lopez had a documented mental health history but no prior arrests, and investigators believe the attack, initially misreported as a robbery, had no clear motive.
- Bank of America VP Erin Piacenti, 32, stabbed to death in Times Square
- She had just returned from maternity leave after having a baby
- Attacker Pamela Cisneros Lopez shot dead by police after also wounding another man
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Times Square is a busy area in central Manhattan, where pedestrians, workers and visitors share crowded pavements. An attack in such a public place can affect people well beyond those directly involved, and can leave questions about how an apparently random act happened.
Erin Piacenti worked as a vice president at Bank of America and lived in New Jersey with her family. She had recently returned to work after maternity leave following the birth of her daughter; Tak Ching Kam was another pedestrian caught up in the attack.
Police identified Pamela Cisneros Lopez as the attacker and said she had a documented mental health history, but no previous arrests. Investigators have not established a clear motive, and the case raises broader questions about public safety and how mental health needs are recognised and addressed.
Full account
Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America vice-president from Chester, New Jersey, was killed in a stabbing in Times Square on Monday, according to reports. Police said a 49-year-old woman, Pamela Cisneros Lopez, attacked a 68-year-old man and then Piacenti near a street vendor at about 4.30pm. Piacenti was taken to hospital but died from her abdominal injuries.
Piacenti worked in Bank of America’s business selection and conflicts division. The New York Times, as cited by one report, said she had recently returned to work after five months of maternity leave. Relatives described her as a new mother; social-media posts reportedly showed her with her husband, Frank, and their infant daughter shortly before the attack. The couple had attended Fordham Law School and married in 2024.
Officers confronted Lopez shortly afterwards while she was carrying two kitchen knives, police said. Video from the scene reportedly shows officers using a Taser before firing when Lopez moved towards them with the blades. She was handcuffed and given emergency treatment but was later pronounced dead. The injured man was reported to be in a serious condition.
The incident prompted concern in Piacenti’s home community, where commuters told reporters it had made violence in the city feel particularly close. A police briefing attended by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch was cited in one account. The available reports do not set out a confirmed motive for the attacks; any fuller account of Lopez’s personal circumstances remains based on relatives’ statements rather than an official determination.
Where outlets differ
The first report concentrates on Piacenti’s family life, recent return from maternity leave, career and the reaction in Chester, New Jersey. The second focuses principally on Lopez’s background, reporting claims from her brother about mental-health treatment, family estrangement and a prolonged divorce.
Both reports describe the police confrontation and identify Piacenti’s Bank of America role, but only the second gives detailed, unverified family testimony about Lopez’s past. Those claims should not be treated as an established explanation for the attack.