NYPD fatally shoots woman after Times Square stabbing attack
New York City police shot and killed a 49-year-old woman on Monday after she stabbed two people in Times Square. One victim and the attacker died, while the second victim survived.
A woman armed with two knives attacked two bystanders in Times Square on Monday before New York City police officers shot her dead, authorities said. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters the attack was "random and unprovoked," carried out by a woman with a documented history of mental health issues.
The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens. According to Tisch, Cisneros first stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen, then moments later stabbed a woman in the stomach.
Standoff and shooting
Officers arriving at the scene spent about four minutes trying to persuade Cisneros to drop her weapons, without success. Tisch, citing body camera footage she had reviewed, said Cisneros told officers: "I'm not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you."
Several officers attempted to subdue her with stun guns, but she kept advancing toward them with the knives still in hand. Two officers then fired their service weapons. The shooting itself was also captured on body camera footage.
All three people involved — Cisneros and both stabbing victims — were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Cisneros and the female victim were pronounced dead there, while the male victim survived and is listed in stable condition.
Reaction
Both Commissioner Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended the officers' use of lethal force, though the shooting will still undergo the standard investigation applied to all police-involved shootings in the city. Mamdani thanked NYPD officers, saying their intervention prevented the attack from becoming even worse.
