Knife-wielding woman shot dead by NYPD after stabbing two people in Times Square

A woman armed with two knives was shot and killed by police in Times Square after she carried out a series of unprovoked attacks that reportedly left two people wounded, one of them fatally. The incident occurred in the middle of the afternoon, and the suspect, identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital shortly after the confrontation with officers.

As reported by the NY Post, the sequence of events began near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Cisneros reportedly pulled two kitchen knives from a red Target bag and targeted a 68-year-old man as he walked away from the subway station. 

The victim was stabbed in the abdomen while waiting to cross the street. Following this initial assault, the suspect reportedly moved toward 42nd Street, where she attacked a 32-year-old woman, also inflicting a stab wound to the abdomen. This second victim tragically succumbed to her injuries.

She was not turning herself in

Witnesses in the area described a scene of immediate panic as crowds began to scatter. Hassan Abdallah, who operates a fruit cart at the intersection of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, described seeing the aftermath of the first attack. He observed a woman attempting to help the 68-year-old man who had been stabbed in the back. 

Abdallah assisted by providing paper towels as the man’s wife urged him to lie on the ground to manage the bleeding. Another delivery worker recalled emerging from a building to find people running west and discovering a victim already on the floor with visible injuries.

Police reportedly located Cisneros a block away, positioned behind an NYPD substation. She was seen holding two knives and acting in a threatening manner. Footage of the encounter shows the suspect wearing a pink shirt, jeans, and a crossbody purse as she flailed the weapons in front of officers and a crowd of onlookers. 

Commissioner Tisch stated that officers engaged in a four-minute dialogue with the woman, providing her with numerous commands to drop the weapons. During the standoff, the suspect explicitly told the officers, “I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you. I will kill you.”

When verbal commands failed, officers attempted to use tasers to neutralize the threat. These efforts reportedly proved to be ineffective, and Cisneros continued to charge at the officers while holding the knives. Two officers then fired their weapons, striking the suspect. The NYPD confirmed that the two knives were recovered from the scene.

Authorities have noted that Cisneros, a resident of Queens, reportedly had a documented history of mental illness involving the police department, with incidents reported in 2018 and 2019, though she had no prior arrests. An internal investigation into the shooting is currently underway, and the incident was captured on police body cameras.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the public during a press conference, emphasizing that the event is not believed to be terrorism-related and that a specific motive remains unknown. Commissioner Tisch highlighted the extreme difficulty of the situation, noting that the Crossroads of the World is constantly filled with thousands of workers, families, and tourists. She praised the officers for their response to a rapidly evolving threat in such a crowded environment.