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The mother of a woman who carried out a deadly attack in Times Square is questioning why law enforcement officers shot her daughter rather than physically restraining her.
The incident unfolded on a Monday afternoon in one of New York City's busiest hubs, leading to the death of one victim, severe injuries to another, and the eventual shooting of the attacker by police officers.
Panic spread through the area as bystanders, commuters, and tourists fled the scene during the brief wave of violence.
The attacker was identified as Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old resident of Queens. According to authorities, Cisneros pulled two knives out of a red Target shopping bag before initiating the unprovoked assaults.
Her first victim was Tak Kam, a 68-year-old father from Rhode Island, who was stabbed in the abdomen shortly after exiting the subway on West 41st Street while waiting to cross the street.
Cisneros then walked toward 42nd Street, where she attacked Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old vice president at Bank of America. Piacenti, a resident of Chester, New Jersey, had recently returned to work following maternity leave. She did not survive the injury.
Following the stabbings, responding officers surrounded Cisneros as she held a large knife in each hand and threatened to kill them. Cell phone footage captured the confrontation, showing officers attempting to subdue her with tasers.
The devices proved ineffective in stopping her movement. When Cisneros charged directly at the surrounding officers while waving the weapons, two officers discharged their firearms, hitting her. She was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where medical staff later pronounced her dead.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Cisneros' mother, who requested to remain anonymous, spoke out regarding how the confrontation was handled by law enforcement.
Speaking in Spanish, she expressed confusion over the choice to use lethal force when multiple officers were present at the scene. "There were so many police… why didn’t they grab her by the arm?" Cisneros’ mother, who did not give her name, asked Fox 5 News in Spanish.
Her family noted that Cisneros had been dealing with mental health struggles for a significant period. Her brother, Patrick Peralta, 59, shared that his sister had bipolar disorder and noted that she had been receiving treatment.
He mentioned that she reported feeling "fine" as recently as the Saturday before the event and said he was unsure what triggered the sudden violence, stating his sister had found stability in recent years.
Cisneros had a documented history of mental health incidents involving local authorities. In December 2018, police were called when she was found intoxicated and shouting along Lexington Avenue.
Months later, in March 2019, she attempted suicide by jumping in front of an E train in Queens. Around the same timeframe, her personal life faced significant shifts. Court records show her husband filed for divorce in Hillsborough County, Florida, in 2020, with the proceedings finalized last year.
The violent event took a heavy toll on the victims and their families. Just four days prior to the attack, Piacenti had shared a photograph online with her infant and husband, expressing joy about her family life.
She and her husband had recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary and spent her maternity leave traveling together with their newly baptized child. Meanwhile, local authorities continue to review the details surrounding the confrontation and the emergency response in Times Square.
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