A 32-year-old Bank of America vice president has been identified as the victim of a fatal stabbing in New York’s Times Square. Erin Piacenti was attacked on Monday afternoon, August 31, 2026, in what police have described as a random and unprovoked act of violence. The attack occurred just blocks from the bank’s Manhattan office at One Bryant Park as Piacenti was walking home from work.
A second victim, a 68-year-old man, was also stabbed in the attack and remains in stable condition at a local hospital. The assailant, identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, was shot and killed by responding officers after advancing toward them while carrying two large knives.
Erin Piacenti was a vice-president in Bank of America’s Business Selection and Conflicts unit, a role she had held for approximately 18 months at the time of her death. According to an internal memo from Matthew Koder, Bank of America’s president of Global Corporate & Investment Banking, Piacenti was described as a “cherished teammate and friend.”
Piacenti was a highly accomplished professional with a law degree from Fordham Law School, graduating in 2021 alongside her husband, Frank Piacenti. She had previously earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and had worked as a legal intern for Major League Baseball and as an associate at the elite law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell before joining Bank of America.
The attack unfolded at approximately 4:24 p.m. on Monday, August 31, near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, one of the busiest stretches of Times Square. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Cisneros pulled two large kitchen knives from a shopping bag and first stabbed the 68-year-old man near a subway exit on West 41st Street.
Approximately 20 seconds later, she attacked Piacenti, stabbing her in the abdomen. The two stabbings occurred in rapid succession and appeared “random and unprovoked,” Tisch said.
Piacenti had recently become a mother and had just returned to work from maternity leave. According to reports, she had shared a photograph of herself with her newborn daughter and husband just four days before the attack, celebrating her baby’s baptism and her second wedding anniversary.
In a social media post, Piacenti expressed gratitude for having five months off to care for her new daughter and wrote about the joy of her family. The couple had recently purchased a home in Chester, New Jersey, and had celebrated their second wedding anniversary on August 10, 2026.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch provided details of the incident at a press conference. After the stabbings, responding officers encountered Cisneros brandishing two large knives and advancing toward them. Officers attempted to use a stun gun and tried for several minutes to persuade her to drop the weapons, but she refused.
Tisch recounted that Cisneros told officers, “I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you,” and repeated, “I will kill you.” When she continued to advance while waving the knives, two officers discharged their service weapons, and Cisneros was pronounced dead at the scene.
The NYPD stated that Cisneros had a documented mental health history, with encounters in 2018 and 2019, but no arrest record in New York City. Her brother told Gothamist that she had psychiatric problems for decades but was not aggressive and had been doing better in recent years.
Piacenti’s career at Bank of America was relatively brief but impactful. She joined the bank 18 months before her death and worked in the Business Selection and Conflicts unit within the Global Corporate and Investment Banking division. Her office was located at One Bryant Park, just a few blocks from the site of the attack.
Bank of America released a statement expressing shock and sadness at her death: “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.” The bank confirmed its security teams were “fully engaged in supporting the police investigation.”
Fordham Law School, where Piacenti earned her law degree, released a statement expressing profound grief. “We are heartbroken to learn of the tragic and senseless loss of our alumna, Erin (Guiltinan) Piacenti,” a spokesperson said. “Erin and her husband, Frank, graduated in 2021 and have been cherished members of the Fordham Law family.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also addressed the incident, confirming that police bodycam footage would be released at a later date. The attack has drawn attention to public safety concerns in the Times Square area, which is one of the most heavily policed locations in the city.
The investigation remains ongoing, led by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division. Police have stated that the attack was not terrorism-related and appears to have been entirely random. Cisneros had no prior arrest record in New York City, though she had two documented mental health-related encounters with police in 2018 and 2019.
The 68-year-old male victim remains in stable condition and continues to recover from his injuries. Authorities have not released further information about his identity or condition.
Erin Piacenti was a 32-year-old Bank of America vice president and a Fordham Law School graduate who was killed in a random stabbing in Times Square on August 31, 2026.
Piacenti was stabbed in the abdomen near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue while walking home from work. She later died from her injuries at Bellevue Hospital.
She worked as a vice president in Bank of America’s Business Selection and Conflicts unit at One Bryant Park in Manhattan.
Yes, she was a vice president in Bank of America’s global corporate and investment banking division.
Yes, she had recently returned to work after taking five months of maternity leave following the birth of her daughter.
A 49-year-old woman, Pamela Cisneros, stabbed two people in a random attack. Piacenti was killed, and a 68-year-old man was injured but survived. The attacker was shot and killed by police.
The attacker, Pamela Cisneros, was shot and killed by police at the scene. No other arrests have been reported.
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