Shot Dead: Police Neutralise Knife Suspect After Fatal Random Attacks In Times Square

A knife-wielding woman stabbed two people in New York's Times Square on Monday afternoon, killing one, before she was shot and killed by police following a brief but tense standoff, according to authorities. Police identified the suspect as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, who officials said carried out the attack in what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described as a "random and unprovoked" act that took place in roughly 20 seconds in one of the most heavily trafficked and heavily policed areas of the city.

According to Tisch, Cisneros pulled two knives from a bag and first attacked a 68-year-old man who had just exited the subway and was waiting with his wife to cross the street, stabbing him in the abdomen. Moments later, she stabbed a 32-year-old woman, also in the abdomen. Both victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where the 32-year-old woman was pronounced dead. The 68-year-old man survived and was listed in stable condition, according to officials. The entire sequence of events, from the initial stabbing to the fatal police shooting, unfolded in approximately four to five minutes, authorities said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the death during a press conference, confirming that the second victim was in stable condition at the hospital. He praised the responding officers, saying their actions likely prevented the situation from escalating further and resulting in additional casualties. "I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," Mamdani said, adding that the department would conduct an internal investigation into the shooting and that body-worn camera footage would eventually be released to the public.

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Commissioner Tisch defended the officers' response, stating that they acted in accordance with their training when confronted by an armed and advancing suspect. "Officers did exactly what they were trained to do, and that was to protect themselves when a perpetrator, in this case a woman, is coming at them armed and waving two knives," she said. Cisneros was also transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Officials noted that while she did not have a criminal history, she did have a documented mental health history with the department, and police said the incident is not believed to be terror-related.

The shooting occurred near a NYPD substation and the entrance to the Times Square-42nd Street subway station, prompting a temporary closure of part of Seventh Avenue and a heavy law enforcement presence in the area as investigators worked the scene. The incident marks the second fatal stabbing in Times Square this year, following a similar killing in the same area in May, and comes amid a string of recent violent incidents involving knives in and around the Times Square transit hub. Despite these episodes, overall violent crime in New York City has fallen sharply this year, with homicides down 24 percent and on pace to potentially reach their lowest level in decades, according to city officials.

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