By Saeed Azhar and Manya Saini
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) – A Bank of America vice president was killed in a stabbing in New York City’s Times Square, the second-biggest U.S. lender said on Tuesday, a random incident that took place in broad daylight in the heart of the city’s tourist industry.
The incident brought the streets of the area in Midtown Manhattan to a halt on Monday as emergency vehicles swarmed between the skyscrapers.
The deceased was Erin Piacenti, 32, according to the New York City Police. Bank of America confirmed the loss of a staff member and an internal memo seen by Reuters confirmed her identity. Piacenti was a vice president in BofA’s business selection and conflicts unit, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“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. BofA’s Manhattan office is located a stone’s throw from Times Square at One Bryant Park.
An unnamed 68-year-old man also suffered stab wounds in the attack and was in stable condition, the NYPD said in a statement.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the attack, which took place on Monday around 4:24 p.m. ET in the vicinity of West 42 Street and Seventh Avenue, appeared to be random and unprovoked.
The NYPD said when officers arrived on the scene they found Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old woman, who was brandishing two large knives and advanced toward officers. Officers shot Cisneros, and she was later pronounced dead. Tisch said Cisneros had a documented mental health history.
SECURITY TEAMS ENGAGED
Bank of America’s president of Global Corporate & Investment Banking Matthew Koder described Piacenti as a “cherished teammate and friend” in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
“Erin was a valued member of the Business Selection and Conflicts team, having joined the bank 18 months ago,” Koder wrote in the memo. “Her loss is being felt deeply by many.”
Koder said that Bank of America’s security teams were “fully engaged in supporting the police investigation here, and in addressing the ongoing safety and security of our offices and teammates.”
Last year, a senior Blackstone executive was killed when a gunman carrying an assault rifle walked into the lobby of a Midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire.
In 2022, a Goldman Sachs employee was fatally shot in a random, unprovoked attack while riding a train from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
And in 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead outside a Manhattan hotel in what law-enforcement officials have called a premeditated assassination. Last month, Luigi Mangione admitted in court that he fatally shot the health insurance executive.
Despite these high-profile incidents, recent data shows crime in New York City has been falling. Last month, the NYPD said the city recorded the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims and murders on record both for the first seven months of the year and for the month of July.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Megan Davies and Rosalba O’Brien)
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