NEW YORK – A 32-year-old vice president of Bank of America was fatally stabbed in New York City’s Times Square in an apparently random attack, police said.
Erin Piacenti, a vice president in Bank of America’s Business Selection and Conflicts Unit, was among two people stabbed by a woman in the heavily policed tourist district. A 68-year-old man was also injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Piacenti, an Ivy League graduate who also held a law degree from Fordham Law School, had recently returned to work after maternity leave. Just four days before the attack, she had posted photographs with her husband and child on social media, expressing gratitude for the extended time she had spent with her family.
Police identified the alleged attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, a mother of three who had a history of mental health problems.
According to police, Cisneros first stabbed the elderly man before attacking Piacenti. Officers repeatedly ordered her to drop the knife for several minutes, but she allegedly threatened to kill police officers.
Police subsequently used a stun gun and opened fire, killing Cisneros at the scene.
Cisneros’ brother, Patrick Peralta, said she had experienced mental health problems for years but had never previously been violent. He said the family could not understand what had led to the attack and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
Bank of America and Fordham Law School expressed deep sorrow over Piacenti’s death.
The stabbing occurred in an area of Times Square under heavy police surveillance. The same location was the scene of another fatal stabbing in May, according to reports.
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