‘I’d rather kill both of you’: Knife-wielding woman fatally shot by NYPD after stabbing spree

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A 32-year-old woman was killed and a 68-year-old man was wounded in a random stabbing spree in the heart of Times Square on Monday, August 31, police said. The alleged attacker, identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, was later fatally shot by NYPD officers after she refused to drop two knives and advanced toward them.

The attacks unfolded within about 20 seconds near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue before Cisneros continued north toward West 42nd Street. Officers confronted her minutes later, leading to a roughly four-minute standoff as they repeatedly ordered her to surrender.

Two strangers attacked within seconds

Police said the first victim had just exited the subway and was standing with his wife waiting to cross the street when Cisneros allegedly pulled two knives from a red Target bag.

She approached the 68-year-old man and stabbed him in the right side of his abdomen in what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described as a "random and unprovoked attack."

The man was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was in stable condition Monday evening.

Cisneros then headed toward West 42nd Street, where police said she approached a 32-year-old woman and stabbed her in the abdomen. The woman was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Police had not released her identity pending notification of her family.

Suspect refused to surrender knives

Witnesses alerted police as Cisneros continued north, and officers confronted her between West 42nd and West 43rd streets. She was still holding both knives, according to police.

Tisch said officers spent roughly four minutes trying to persuade her to drop the weapons.

The video below shows Tisch briefing reporters on the stabbing incidents in Times Square and along Seventh Avenue.

"I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you," Cisneros told officers, according to Tisch. "I will kill you," she repeated.

Police said Cisneros then waved the knives and advanced toward officers. Multiple officers deployed Tasers, but they failed to stop her.

Two officers ultimately opened fire, striking Cisneros. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The confrontation and police shooting were captured on officers' body-worn cameras, Tisch said.

Mayor Mamdani praises officers who responded

Tisch described the incident as an "extraordinarily dangerous situation" in Times Square, where large numbers of tourists, commuters, workers and families can be present.

"Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them," Tisch said. "In that moment, they did what we train them to do." New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also credited the responding officers with preventing further bloodshed.

"I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," he said. "This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe."

Mamdani said the standard internal investigation into the police shooting would take place and that body-worn camera footage would be released publicly.

Cisneros had no arrest history with the NYPD, though department records showed previous police interactions involving mental health concerns in 2018 and 2019, Tisch said. Investigators were still working to determine what brought her to Times Square before the attacks.

Police said there was no indication at this stage that the stabbings were an act of te**orism. Tisch called the killing a "senseless act of violence" and offered condolences to the family of the woman who died.