NEW YORK — A New York City woman armed with a pair of knives randomly stabbed two people -- one fatally -- at Times Square on Monday, before she was killed by police after refusing to put down her weapons, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m. ET, The New York Times reported. The alleged assailant was identified as Pamela Cisneros, 49, a resident of Queens, according to the newspaper.
One of the victims, a 32-year-old woman, died at an area hospital, WABC reported. The second victim, a 68-year-old man, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries but has been upgraded to stable condition, according to the television station.
Breaking News: A woman stabbed two people, killing one, in Times Square. The police fatally shot her, officials said. https://t.co/uDMaQgJZL6
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 31, 2026
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the officers tried to persuade Cisneros to disarm for four minutes, the Times reported.
However, the woman told officers: “I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.”
Tisch said during a news conference that Cisneros walked up to the man, who had just exited the subway with his wife at West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, the Times reported. The commissioner said the couple was waiting to cross the street when Cisneros pulled the knives from a red Target bag and stabbed the man on the side of his abdomen.
Cisneros then headed toward 42nd Street and stabbed a woman about 20 seconds later, according to the newspaper. She was also stabbed in the abdomen, WABC reported.
Aliou Dieye, a vendor who sells sunglasses and ball caps, said he saw the assailant holding a knife and approaching another woman in front of his stand.
“She didn’t say nothing,” Dieye, 62, told the Times. “She walked up to her. She stabbed her in the stomach.”
Tisch called the stabbings a “senseless attack,” according to the newspaper.
There are at least two videos of what happened next. One, which was posted on X but later deleted, appears to show Cisneros holding a knife in each hand as she engages in a standoff with the officers.
Another video, provided by a former law enforcement official and taken from behind the officers, shows at least seven officers surrounding Cisneros, according to the Times.
Police talked to Cisneros for four minutes before using stun guns, which did not appear to be effective, WNBC reported. The woman then advanced toward the officers and two of them opened fire. She was taken to an area hospital, where she died, according to the television station.
“This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world,” Tisch told reporters, according to WNBC. “Tonight, our thoughts are, of course, with the victims of this horrific attack and their families. One life cut far too short by a senseless act of violence.”
Police said that Cisneros had a history of mental illness, WPIX reported. In 2018 and 2019, she had a documented history with the NYPD.
An investigation is ongoing, according to the television station.
“We know that those families’ lives have been shattered by what took place today, and we will continue to hold them close as the hours and days and weeks continue from this moment,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference.
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