Sept 1 (Reuters) – A Bank of America vice president was killed in a stabbing in New York City’s Times Square on Monday, sending a shock wave through the bank after the random incident took place in broad daylight in the heart of the city’s tourist industry.
Erin Piacenti, 32, was a vice president in BofA’s business selection and conflicts unit, according to her LinkedIn profile. The NYPD said that the suspect was a woman with a history of mental health issues.
“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 U.S. banking giant said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Monday in a press briefing that a woman carrying multiple large knives stabbed two people in Times Square before police used a Taser and fired their weapons.
BofA’s Manhattan office is located a stone’s throw from Times Square at One Bryant Park. The bank also has other financial centers across New York City, the heartbeat of the American financial system.
Piacenti sustained stab wounds in the incident and was later pronounced dead, the NYPD said. A 68-year-old male also sustained stab wounds and was in stable condition, it added.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the attacks, which took place on August 31 around 4:24 p.m. ET in the vicinity of West 42 Street and Seventh Avenue, appeared to be random and unprovoked.
“The investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Force Investigation Division,” the NYPD said in a statement. The suspect, Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old woman, was killed on Monday as officers responded.
The incident comes after the fatal shooting of a senior Blackstone executive last summer when a gunman, carrying an assault rifle, walked into the lobby of a midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire.
In 2022, a 48-year-old Goldman Sachs employee was fatally shot in a random, unprovoked attack while riding a train from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
Crime rates in New York City have been in focus for years. Last month, the NYPD said it recorded the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims and murders in the first seven months of the year, as well as in July.
The NYPD recorded a new monthly low of 59 shooting incidents in July, versus 75 seen in 2025. Major crime was also down 12.7% citywide.
Partnership for New York City, a non-profit that represents prominent corporate, investment and entrepreneurial firms in the city, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the incident.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel and Joyjeet Das)
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