Bank of America vice president Erin Piacenti has been killed in a stabbing incident in New York City’s Times Square.
Piacenti, 32, the bank’s Vice President of Business Selection and Conflicts, was stabbed in the abdomen after Pamela Cisneros, 49, pulled out two knives and attacked Piacenti and a 68-year-old man, reports indicate. The man is in stable condition.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones,” Bank of America spokesperson John Yiannacopoulos said in a statement.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said of the event, as per CBS News, “During the encounter, she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.’ She repeated, ‘I will kill you.'”
Upon being approached by police, Cisneros refused to drop her weapons. The woman allegedly began approaching the police, who proceeded to deploy tasers. Reports note that the tasers were ineffective at mitigating Cisneros’ advancement, wherein the officers then discharged their firearms. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“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. Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them. In that moment, they did what we train them to do.”
