Fatal stabbing in Times Square: suspect shot dead by NYPD after refusing to drop knives

A woman stabbed and killed one person and injured another in Times Square on Monday before being shot dead by police. The suspect, Pamela Cisneros, 49, ignored four minutes of commands to disarm.

Times Square stabbing kills one, injures another before police shoot suspect dead

A woman fatally stabbed a 32-year-old in Times Square on Monday and wounded a 68-year-old man, before New York police shot her dead after she refused repeated commands to drop her weapons, TheJournal.ie reports.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the deaths at a press conference, confirming that the injured man remained in stable condition in hospital. The identities of the victims have not been released pending notification of their families.

The attacker was identified as Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old resident of Queens with a known history of mental health issues. According to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Cisneros pulled two large knives from a supermarket-branded bag and began threatening passersby in broad daylight.

She first approached the 68-year-old man and stabbed him in the abdomen. Twenty seconds later, she stabbed the 32-year-old woman in the abdomen — wounds from which the woman later died.

Officers intervened quickly and attempted to talk Cisneros into surrendering her weapons. "The officers engaged the woman in dialogue for four minutes and gave her numerous commands to drop the knives, which she refused," Tisch said.

During the standoff, Cisneros told officers: "I'm not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you," Tisch added.

One witness, speaking to local TV outlet PIX11, said Cisneros had a knife in each hand and was tased by police before charging at officers. "They shot her twice," the unnamed witness said.

Police confirmed they had deployed a stun gun without success before officers discharged their handguns. Cisneros was pronounced dead at hospital, according to local news reports.

Commissioner Tisch said investigators do not believe the attack was terror-related. "This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world," she said. "At any given moment, there are thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families, workers moving through these streets."

An AFP journalist at the scene observed a large emergency services presence and officials examining a patch of blood on the ground in Times Square.

Source: TheJournal.ie