Two Dead, One Injured in Times Square Stabbing; Suspect Fatally Shot by Police
NEW YORK — A knife-wielding woman stabbed and killed one person and injured another in New York's Times Square on Monday evening, before being shot and killed by police, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, had no history of arrest but a documented mental health history within the New York Police Department, Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters during an evening press conference.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the deaths in a press conference, saying that the second victim was in stable condition in a hospital.
Tisch said the incident lasted about five minutes, with the two victims being stabbed within 20 seconds of one another, beginning near West 41st Street and 7th Avenue. Multiple calls reporting the stabbing were made at 4:24 m. EDT.
The first victim, a 68-year-old man, had exited the subway with his wife and was waiting to cross the street when, according to witnesses cited by Tisch, Cisneros removed two knives from a red Target bag, waved them around, then stabbed the man in the right side of the abdomen.
She then proceeded up 7th Avenue toward 32nd Street and stabbed a 32-year-old woman, also in the abdomen. Both victims were transported to Bellevue Hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead and the man remains in stable condition.
The victims' identities are not being released pending notification of their families.
Nearby officers, alerted to the stabbings by bystanders, spoke with Cisneros, attempting to convince her to drop her knives over a span of four minutes. Tisch said the woman refused and threatened to kill the police officers.
"'I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you,'" Tisch said, quoting the suspect.
One witness told local TV outlet PIX11 that the suspect had two knives in her hands and was tased by police before she rushed at officers. "They shot her twice," said the unnamed witness.
Police confirmed that they had unsuccessfully used a stun gun before firing their handguns. Two officers then opened fire with their service weapons, striking Cisneros, who was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Tisch said they do not believe the attack was terror-related.
"This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world," Tisch said. "At any given moment, there are thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families, workers moving through these streets."
An AFP journalist at the scene saw a large emergency services presence and officials. Two knives were recovered from the scene, and the NYPD posted a picture of them.
Mayor Eric Adams said an internal investigation will be launched and body camera footage will be made public.
Tisch would not detail the suspect's documented mental health history but mentioned two incidents in 2018 and 2019.