Ololade Adeyanju/
Erin Piacenti was only 32, a young lawyer and Bank of America vice president whose life appeared to be entering a promising new chapter.
She had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary with her husband, Frank. The couple had also recently bought a home.
Then, on an ordinary Monday afternoon in one of New York City’s busiest public spaces, her life was cut short by a stranger carrying two knives.
Piacenti was fatally stabbed in Times Square on August 31 in what New York police described as a “random and unprovoked” attack.
She was one of two strangers attacked within seconds of each other by a 49-year-old woman, Pamela Cisneros.
Police said the first victim was a 68-year-old man who had just emerged from a subway station with his wife and was waiting to cross the road. Cisneros allegedly removed two large knives from a shopping bag and stabbed him in the abdomen.
She then moved a bit further and attacked Piacenti.
The two stabbings happened within about 20 seconds, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Piacenti was stabbed in the abdomen and rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
The other victim, who has not been publicly identified, survived and was reported to be in stable condition.
For Piacenti’s family, colleagues and friends, the circumstances have made her death particularly difficult to comprehend. There was no reported dispute, robbery or known connection between her and the attacker.
She was simply in Times Square.
Piacenti had built an impressive career at a relatively young age. She was a vice president of business selection and conflicts at Bank of America, working in the bank’s corporate and investment banking operation. Her office was only a few blocks from where she was attacked.
Before entering banking, she trained as a lawyer. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and Fordham Law School in 2021. At Penn, she was also involved in music, performing with the university’s Dischord A Cappella group. L
Her personal life had also recently entered a new phase.
Piacenti and her husband married in August 2024 and celebrated their second wedding anniversary on August 10, just three weeks before she was killed.
Instead of planning the next stage of their life together, her husband is now mourning a wife whose future had barely begun to unfold.
Bank of America confirmed Piacenti’s death and expressed shock and grief over the loss of its colleague.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague,” the bank said, describing her as a valued teammate who would be greatly missed and extending its sympathy to her family and loved ones.
The attack also ended with the death of the alleged assailant.
After the two stabbings, Cisneros continued towards a nearby NYPD substation while carrying the knives. Officers spent about four minutes ordering her to drop the weapons, police said.
According to Tisch, Cisneros refused and threatened the officers. Several officers used Tasers, but they failed to stop her. She then advanced towards police while holding the knives, prompting two officers to fire their weapons.
Cisneros was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said Cisneros had no previous arrest record but had documented encounters with the NYPD relating to mental-health concerns in 2018 and 2019. The motive for the attack remained unclear.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is examining the police shooting.
The violence unfolded in one of the most recognisable and heavily policed parts of New York, close to a police substation and the site of the annual Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations.
But for those who knew Piacenti, the story is unlikely to be remembered simply as another violent incident in New York.
It is the story of a 32-year-old woman who had worked hard to build a career, earned degrees from two respected universities, found a husband with whom she had recently celebrated two years of marriage and begun building a home.
She went into Times Square on Monday afternoon.
She never came home.
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