Erin Piacenti was 32 years old. She grew up in New Jersey. She sang in a college group. She had a law degree. On Monday she walked through Times Square, a few blocks from her office. A stranger with two knives stabbed her in the stomach. She died at a hospital.

Police say the attack was random. They say the two women had never met.

It happened Monday afternoon near Seventh Avenue. The time was about 4:26 p.m. Police say Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens pulled out two knives. She stabbed a 68 year old man in the stomach. About 20 seconds later, she stabbed Piacenti.

The man was in the city visiting his son in Brooklyn. He was with his wife. Police say he did not know Cisneros either. He was hurt badly at first. He is now stable at a hospital.

Cisneros ran north up Seventh Avenue. She ran toward a small police station in Times Square. Officers met her there. What came next lasted about four minutes.

Officers told her to drop the knives. They said it over and over. She would not do it. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the woman told the officers, "I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you." Tisch said she repeated, "I will kill you."

Officers fired Tasers at her twice. Police say that did not stop her. Then two officers fired their guns. Cisneros died at a hospital.

Police picked up two knives at the scene. Both stabbings hit the same part of the body. Both victims were strangers to the woman with the knives, police say.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani thanked the officers. "I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," he said.

Police say Cisneros had a history of mental health problems. Officers had contact with her in 2018 and in 2019. She was not arrested either time. Police say the attack was not terror. They say she appeared to be emotionally disturbed.

Bank of America says Piacenti worked there. She was a vice president on the business side. Her office was in Manhattan, a short walk from the spot where she was stabbed.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague," the bank said. "She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones."

She was more than a job title. Piacenti grew up in Chester, New Jersey. She went to Villa Walsh Academy, a small Catholic girls school in Morristown. She finished at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016.

At Penn she sang with a group called Dischord. She was an alto. She sang lead a lot. She took on songs by Ariana Grande and Tina Turner. She also helped build the group's arrangements. She sang with the New Jersey Youth Chorus, too.

She went on to law school at Fordham. She earned her law degree in 2021. She married a fellow Fordham law graduate in 2024. Her last name at birth was Guiltinan.

Times Square is one of the busiest corners in the country. Tourists, workers, and families move through it all day. Monday's attack happened in daylight, in the middle of that crowd.

Two officers fired their weapons. Police have not said how many shots they fired. They also have not said if the two victims were picked for any reason. Everything police have said so far points the other way. They call both stabbings random and unprovoked.

The man who survived is still in the hospital. Police say they are still working the case.

For a lot of people, Times Square is the one part of New York they have walked. It is the picture on the postcard. On Monday it was a crime scene, and a 32 year old woman on her way through it did not make it home.

A charge is not proof. Everyone is innocent until a court says otherwise.